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1 


l 


MAIDofSTRALSUND. 

a STORY OF 

THE THIRTY YEARS' WAR. 


BY 

V 

J. B. DE LIEFDE, 

\\ 

Author of “ The Beggars; or, The Founders of the Dutch Republic .” 



LOVELL, ADAM, WESSON & CO., 

764 Broadway. 

1876. 

ft 







LAKE CHAMPLAIN PRESS, 
ROUSES POINT, N. Y. 


CONTENTS 


CHAPTER. 

I. 

A Brave Resolve . 



PAGE. 

• 5 

II. 

The Condition of Germany 

. 


• 19 

III. 

Cross Purposes 

. 


. 29 

IV. 

The Adventure on the Danholm 


• 4 i 

V. 

The Quarrel . 

. 


• 53 

VI. 

Dismounting the “ Demon ” 



. 65 

VII. 

After the Fray 



. 76 

VIII. 

Bitter Fruits . 



. 86 

IX. 

A Strange Visit . 



. 96 

X. 

Broken at Last 



. 106 

XI. 

Beyond Healing . 



. 112 

XII. 

The Storming of Stralsund 



. 121 

XIII. 

Wallenstein’s Camp 



• 131 

XIV. 

The Duke’s Admonition 



• 143 

XV. 

The City is Saved 



. 152 

XVI. 

Wyndham Prisoner 



. 161 

XVII. 

Tempted in Vain . 



. 174 

XVIII. 

The Prison Fortress 



. 186 

XIX. 

The Strange Physician 



• 193 

XX. 

In the Mean time . 



. 202 

XXI. 

The King 


. 

. . 212 


3 


4 


CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER* 

XXII. 

Back in Stralsund 

• 

• 


PAGE. 

. 221 

XXIII. 

Bad News . 


• 


• 232 

XXIV. 

The Council of War 


• 


. 24I 

XXV. 

Magdeburg’s Doom 


• 


. 249 

XXVI. 

Woe to Them 


• 


. 263 

XXVII. 

Magdeburg Avenged . 


• 


. 271 

XXVIII. 

An Old Acquaintance . 


• 


. 280 

XXIX. 

The Message of Love . 


• 


• 293 

XXX. 

Before the Battle . 




. 301 

XXXI. 

The Battle of Lutzen . 


• 


• 309 

XXXII. 

Reconciliation 


• 


. 321 

XXXIII. 

The End 


• 


. 3 2 8 


CHAPTER I. 


A BRAVE RESOLVE. 

HERE was a strange commotion in the streets 



of the city of Stralsund one morning in April, 
1628. Though the winter had scarcely fled, the 
weather was warm and beautiful. The streets were 
crowded. Rich and poor, old and young, were flock- 
ing out of doors. The morning salutation was pro- 
longed, to discuss a seemingly exciting topic, and 
the crowds increased in numbers as they approached 
one point within the city, where, to all appearances, 
something of importance was about to take place. 

And so indeed there was. The weather looked 
peaceful, but there was war at the city-gates ; and 
while nature began a new life, the cold hand of death 
was ready to fasten upon Stralsund. For some days 
it had been surrounded by an Imperial army under 
General Count Arnheim, and the town council had 
been asked, in the name of the Catholic League 


6 


THE MAID OF STRALSUND. 


and of the Emperor of Germany, to admit an Impe- 
rial garrison. Unable to give an immediate reply, 
the city had asked for a respite of some days, in or- 
der that a question which presented on every side 
the gravest difficulties might be fully considered. 
If they opened their gates to Arnheim, Stralsund, 
one of the strongholds of the Lutherans, would fall 
a prey to the Emperor of Germany, the staunch 
friend of the Jesuits and the implacable enemy of 
Protestantism. Should they refuse, there lay before 
them all the horrors of a siege, the end of which it 
was impossible to foresee. The disposition of the 
Imperial forces was already too well known to leave 
much doubt about their determination, courage, and 
cruelty. The victories they had gained, and towns 
they had taken and sacked, made the invincibility 
even of Stralsund, the strongest of the Hanse towns, 
a mere assumption. 

Indeed, so thoroughly convinced were the inhabi- 
tants of their own inability to sustain a siege, that 
they would probably have made but little resistance 
if they had depended upon no one but themselves. 
The danger, however, had threatened for months. 
The Imperial army had been in the neighborhood 
and had subdued every town ; and the Stralsunders 
knew very well that when every other stronghold 


A BRAVE RESOLVE. 


7 

had been conquered their turn would be sure to 
come. Ambassadors had therefore been sent to the 
various Protestant powers. A Danish force had 
already arrived, with a promise of more help should 
it be required. The king of Sweden, too, while 
sending money and provisions, had besought the 
city, for the sake of the Protestant cause, to hold 
out to the very last ; and it was confidently expected 
that he would send a considerable force as soon as 
the war he was waging with Russia had been con- 
cluded. 

The town council, therefore, thought itself justi- 
fied in determining to close its gates and in refusing 
to listen to the summons ; but, as in so important 
a matter it was incumbent upon them fully to as- 
certain the popular spirit, they had convened on 
the market-place a meeting of all the inhabitants 
above the age of twenty-two ; and it is to that spa- 
cious square that the people were now crowding. 
We beg the reader to follow us to one of the spires 
of the church of St. Nicholas and survey the scene. 

The large square is densely packed, and every 
street leading to it is crowded ; the. windows of 
every house are filled with spectators, and here and 
there a banner with the Stralsund arms is displayed. 
The people’s faces, however, are all turned towards a 


8 


THE MAID OF STRALSUND. 


square brick building opposite the church, and from 
that quarter the tones of a voice reach our ears. 
They proceed from a man who, surrounded by about 
a dozen others, stands on the flight of steps, gestic- 
ulating somewhat vehemently, and turning hither 
and thither to the crowd. 

“ Why ” (such are the words that reach us), “ do 
we find our fellow-creatures in other countries so 
oppressed and persecuted ? Why do we hear of 
blood flowing incessantly, in countries where the 
unhappy people are not allowed to worship God 
after their conscience ? I tell ye, burghers, it is 
because the people had not the courage to make a 
determined stand for their rights and their liberties ; 
because they lacked unity ; because they lacked 
faith ; because they could not believe that the same 
God who enabled David to slay the giant will help 
us to resist an enemy not half so dreadful.” A 
burst of cheers here rose up from the people. 

“ When I look at that church,” he continued, 
pointing to the structure opposite, “ I thank God 
from the bottom of my heart that the pure Gospel, 
which that man of God, the great Luther brought 
to light again, has been preached there now for 
nearly a century ; and so, I hope, do you. But if 
you would rather have it- converted into a Popish 


A BRAVE RESOLVE. 


9 


church, if you prefer a city full of priests and 
Jesuits, at whose appearance your only hope of 
liberty will fly, then admit Arnheim and his im- 
perial garrison at once. Now is the time, burghers, 
to give a noble example of that disinterestedness, 
that courage, which prompts a Christian to part with 
all he esteems most valuable on earth, rather than 
lose his liberty of religion and his honor before God 
and man. Now is the time to show that you love 
your creed, not only in prosperity but in adversity. 
Our town is strong, our burghers are stout and 
valiant men, the kings of Sweden and Denmark 
have both promised us assistance in men and 
money; but our greatest strength lies in yonder 
house of prayer, for we know that the help we get 
there is a match for a hundred Arnheims and Wal- 
lensteins.” 

The speaker, who occupied the post of syndic to 
the town, sat down amidst the enthusiastic cheer- 
ing of the people. His animated words had pro- 
duced on the multitude an impression which was 
very welcome to the council. When he had taken 
his seat amongst them, the burgomaster Andrea 
Wurzheim, rose immediately, and, as he raised his 
hand, there fell upon the people a profound silence. 
The town-clerk with impressive voice then read 


IO THE MAID OF S TEALS UND, . 

the points upon which the council had come to a 
decision. They were as follows : — 

ist. To abide faithfully, under the present 
dangerous circumstances, by the true religion as 
expressed in the Augsburg (i. e. Lutheran) Confes- 
sion ; to contend for it and for the common liberty, 
and for the privileges and the welfare of the town ; 
and to stake life and fortune in their defence. 

2d. To continue faithful to the Holy Roman 
Empire ; but at the same time, — * 

3d. Not to suffer any foreign garrison to enter 
the town, no matter who should require it. 

4th. To give due honor to the honorable coun- 
cil, as being the power ordained by God. 

5 th. To obey the appointed chiefs and officers. 

6th. To remain faithfully at the appointed post; 
to abstain from unnecessary firing, and from ca- 
rousing at the watches. 

7th. To behave as peaceful neighbors towards 
one’s fellow-burghers ; to avoid all factiousness, 
quarrels, and disorder ; and, in case of disputes, not 
to permit an affray to ensue at the watches or 
barracks, but to bring the matter up before the 
legal judges. 

These points were submitted to the assembly to 
be confirmed by a solemn oath. The clerk read 


A BRA VE RESOL VE. 


II 


them thrice with a loud voice, and each time the 
hearty cheers of the people assured him of their 
unanimous consent. 

The town council was already congratulating it- 
self upon the unexpected issue of the meeting. The 
cheering had gradually given way to a deep silence, 
as every one felt the importance of the moment, 
when a man ascended the steps whose appearance 
mightily affected the crowd. As if seized by an 
irresistible impulse, it swayed to and fro like a corn- 
field agitated by the wind, hands were shaken in a 
threatening manner, and instead of’ the solemn 
silence, the air was filled with hisses, and cries of 
“ No, no ! No Calvinist ! No Heidelberger ! They 
are worse than Papists.” 

And who, then, was this Calvinist, this Heidel- 
berger, this worse than Papist ! He was an elderly 
man, of venerable appearance, — such as the old 
painters love to take as models of the apostles, — in 
clerical dress, with a fire in his fine eyes that be- 
lied the wrinkles in his face and the greyness of 
his beard, and with a youthful eagerness in his ges- 
tures as he motioned the people to be silent and 
hear his words. Pastor Hermann, the minister of 
the small Reformed church in the town, was as 
zealous an antagonist of the Lutheran as of the 


l2 THE MAID OF STEALS UND. 

Catholic doctrine, and his efforts to obtain a hear- 
ing would probably have proved fruitless had not 
the burgomaster come to his aid. 

“ Children,” he said, “ what conduct is this ? 
What a commencement of our endeavors to avoid 
all factiousness and quarrels ? Would ye refuse 
to Pastor Hermann, as good a citizen as the best 
of us, a right ye claim for yourselves ? Have ye 
forgotten how at the time of the epidemic he nearly 
lost his life in visiting the sick ? Did any of you 
refuse to hear him then ? For shame, children ! ” 

There was a mixture of applause and murmur, 
but though the latter was far the stronger, silence 
reigned at last, and the clear deep voice of the 
Reformed pastor sounded across the square. 

“ Burghers ! I have listened to the propositions 
just read, and I subscribe to them with all my 
heart. But I feel it my duty solemnly ta protest 
against the first. I deny that the true religion is 
expressed in the Augsburg Confession.” 

A great tumult here interrupted the bold if 
not reckless speaker. “ Down with the heretic ! ” 
“ Out of the town with him ! ” “ Burn him ! 

Such were the cries that met him. And some of 
the more turbulent, .trying to push forward, would 
perhaps have attacked the imprudent man, had not 


A BRAVE RESOLVE. 


!3 


a body of armed constables interposed and restored 
order. 

One of the councillors now rose. It was the re- 
corder, Johann Knittel, a red-faced man, apparently 
of a nervous constitution. 

“ I have always esteemed our pastor Hermann 
highly, though he has false views upon religion,” 
he said ; “ but I have also greatly deplored his 
fanatic zeal. I am sorry he has not yet unlearnt 
the lessons of his teacher, the famous professor, 
Abraham Scultetus,* who said that he would rather 
marry his daughter to a Turk than to a Lutheran. 
I say—” 

“ And what did your friend the court chaplain, 
Matthias Hoe von Hoenegg, say ? ” shouted the 
pastor indignantly. “ Did he not say that he 
would rather leave Bohemia in the hands of the 
Jesuits than deliver it into the clutches of Calvin, 
by giving it a Reformed king ? ” 

“ And he was right too ! ” cried several persons 
from below. 

“ He was not ! ” cried a Calvinist in the crowd, 
taking courage to support his pastor. “ If there 

* Abraham Scultetus, or rather Shultet, an eminent Cal- 
vinist, to whom these words have been ascribed. They give 
an idea of the spirit of faction of those days 1566-162 5. 


14 


THE MAID OF STRALSUND. 


were no more difference between us and the Papist 
than there is between you and — ” 

The tumult now became so uproarious, and as- 
sumed so threatening an aspect, that the terrified 
council, not prepared for such a reception of its 
peaceful propositions, was at a loss what to do. 
It was to be feared that words would lead to blows, 
and that the few adherents of Calvin who had ap- 
peared on the square would fare badly in a fray 
with their numerous and hot-headed antagonists. 
At this moment a man appeared on the scene who 
was hailed alike by the people and the council 
with hearty cheers. It was Herr Wechter, one 
of the magistrates, and one of the wealthiest 
citizens of Stralsund. And he was about the only 
man who at this moment could have come forward 
to soothe both parties without incurring the hatred 
or displeasure of at least one of them. Father 
Wechter, as he was called, was a thorough Calvinist, 
and never had there been one moment in his life 
in which he had not openly acknowledged his ad- 
herence to that form of faith. But his amiable 
disposition, his benevolence, his upright dealing, 
his sympathy with the poor, made him the most 
popular man in the city. Where others were 
sneered at, he was listened to with respect, or at 


A BRAVE RESOLVE. 


*5 

least without insult, and so great was his personal 
influence that his appearance among the magis- 
trates was a sign for immediate silence. 

“ Silence ! Let us hear what Father Wechter 
has to say ! He is always right, somehow ! ” were 
the ejaculations from the crowd ; and in a few 
moments he was able to make his voice heard to 
the farthest end of the square. 

“ Children,” he said, “ I am grieved to find that 
on such an occasion as this there should be such 
unseemly behavior. I have lived for thirty years 
in this city ; there are but few faces that I do not 
know, and I could not count all the big men whom 
I have kissed when they were babes. But had I 
known that they would have conducted themselves 
thus, I would have been ashamed to — ” 

A good-humored laugh ran through the crowd 
and assured him that he had gained his point. 

“Is this, citizens,” he said, “the talk and the 
conduct of wise men ? Is this the time and place 
for theological controversies ? I thought we had 
assembled here to agree upon mutual measures of 
defence, but I fear that our greatest enemy lies in 
our midst, for assuredly a city divided against it- 
self shall not stand. The town is in great danger, 
the Imperial generals are powerful and unsparing, 


1 6 the maid of steals und. 

and if we do not love each other in brotherly unity 
the Lord God shall surely deliver us into their 
hands. You know, all of you, that I am a Re- 
formed Christian, but I hope you also know that 
I love the Lutheran Christians as my brethren. I 
cannot give my adherence to the Augsburg Con- 
fession as an expression of my personal belief. 
But this is not required in the first of the seven 
points now before us. We Calvinists have simply 
to choose which of the two, the Augsburg or the 
Popish Confession, we will in the present perilous 
circumstances defend. And in this alternative I 
do not for one moment hesitate to choose the 
former. The Augsburg Confession, whatever it 
may or may not be in other respects, is a Protestant 
Confession. Luther was a Protestant, nay, the 
father of all Protestantism. Were the choice be- 
tween Luther and Calvin, I would prefer the latter; 
but as it is Luther or the Pope, I say Luther, and 
say it with all my heart. (Loud cheering of both 
parties, as each deemed its own side victorious.) 
If it be understood that my oath does not imply 
any personal adherence to the Augsburg Confes- 
sion as a perfect expression of my faith, I will 
take it immediately and with all my heart.” 

An outburst of enthusiasm greeted this firm 


A BRA VE RESOL VE. 


l 7 

and conciliatory speech. When it had subsided, 
the burgomaster proposed in the name of the 
council that the reserve desired by Herr Wechter 
should be added as a clause to the seven points. 
The oath was then unanimously taken, and the 
burghers returned home as peacefully as if no dis- 
turbance had ever reigned in their midst. But 
amongst those who took the oath Pastor Hermann 
was not to be found. 

Walking slowly in the direction of his house, 
Herr Wechter came up with him at the turn of a 
street. As he put his arm into that of the preach- 
er, the latter gazed at him for a moment with an 
air of reproach, and shaking his head, said in a 
somewhat stern voice, “ And is this proclaiming 
your faith boldly, Herr Wechter ? ” 

“ My dear friend,” answered Herr Wechter, 
“ are you not content with what I have said ? ” 

“ How can I be ? ” said the pastor. “ You did 
nothing less than approve of the Augsburg Con- 
fession — a work of the devil.” 

“ Nay,” said Wechter, reproachingly, “ it is not 
a work of the devil, but of holy, though imperfect 
men. I did not say that I approved of it, but 
that I preferred it a thousand times to the Roman 
doctrines. And do not you ? ” 


iS THE MAID OF STRALSUND. 

“ Well, yes,” answered the other, after a moment's 
pause ; “ but still you should have denounced it. 
Never was there a better opportunity to show all 
its imperfections and faults.” 

“ Nay, never was there a better opportunity to 
remember that it is written, ‘ The greatest of these 
is charity.’ There are no Lutherans or Calvinists 
in heaven, and if there must be on earth, let us, at 
any rate, not hate each other.” 


CHAPTER II, 


THE CONDITION OF GERMANY. 


HE resolutions thus taken by the people of 



Stralsund were carried out. A refusal was 
sent to Arnheim. The town was put in a state of 
siege ; its gates were closed, its citizens were armed, 
and every preparation made for executing their bold 
and noble plans. On the other hand, the Imperial 
general immediately settled down before it. Trenches 
and breastworks began to surround the city, and 
the thunder of a hundred pieces of artillery shook 
the foundations of the church of St. Nicholas. It 
will not be out of place here to relate some of the 
circumstances which gave rise to this state of 
affairs. 

The arms of the Emperor Ferdinard II. and of 
the Catholic League had been for some time victo- 
rious in Germany. Bohemia, the first scene of the 
war, was once more entirely in their hands. The 


20 


THE MAID OF STRALSUND. 


newly-elected king, whose forces had been defeated 
in a battle before the walls of Prague while he was 
banquetting within, had fled to his father-in-law 
James I. of England. His principal general, 
Mathias Count Thurn, after having marched to 
Vienna and back without effecting anything but 
the ruin of his army, had crossed over to Sweden. 
The two adventurers, Count Mansfeldt and the 
Duke of Brunswick, whose armies of volunteers 
and outlaws subsisted entirely upon the spoil of the 
territories in which they happened to be, for some 
time successfully opposed Tilly. But want of money 
and the inevitable destitution which they spread 
around them, and from which Tilly would not allow 
them to escape, forced them to disband their troops 
and seek a shelter in the Netherlands. The ex- 
king of Bohemia, who had hoped to be able to save 
at least that part of the dominion which he had 
inherited as elector-palatine, found himself deprived 
even of his Palatinate, and saw the Duke of Bavaria 
solemnly invested with his forfeited rights. 

The Protestant princes, who had remained in- 
active, became seriously alarmed at the turn events 
had taken. The Protestant Union possessed no 
firm and acknowledged head ; its members, mistrust- 
ful of each other and ambitious for themselves, had 


THE CONDITION OF GERMANY. 


21 


allowed the time to slip by without taking any 
active measures. But when they saw the elector- 
palatine’s army defeated, the forces of Mansfeldt 
and Brunswick disbanded, when, nevertheless, Tilly’s 
army remained in the field and the emperor as- 
sumed each day a more independent tone, it occur- 
red to them that their territories might follow the 
Palatinate, unless they averted the danger. An 
alliance was therefore formed for mutual protection. 

Christian, King of Denmark, belonged to the 
Union as Duke of Holstein. Gustavus Adolphus, 
King of Sweden, was induced to join ; James I. of 
England promised his assistance ; subsidies were 
negotiated for in the Netherlands, in France, and in 
some of the Italian republics, and the princes of 
the circle of Lower Saxony exerted all their powers 
to raise an army of their own. It was at the same 
time officially declared in Vienna that these prep- 
arations were made with no view to hostile aggres- 
sion, but simply as a means of defence, and that the 
princes of the Union were as loyal as ever. The 
Emperor, in answer to this declaration, required 
them to give proof of this loyalty by laying down 
their arms. Instead of this, the princes redoubled 
their efforts, and were soon in a position to defy 
the Emperor. 


2 2 the maid of stralsund. 

The ambitious King of Denmark, wishing to be 
the head of the armed Union, and to gain for him- 
self the military renown to which he aspired, en- 
tered Germany with an army of 60,000 men. At 
this welcome renewal of hostilities, Count Mans- 
feldt and the Duke of Brunswick left their retreat 
in the Netherlands, once more assembled a band of 
adventurers around them, and recommenced their 
old practices of fishing in troubled waters. For 
what was more probable than that they should 
have gathered a good harvest in the exceeding 
troubled waters of Germany, had affairs gone 
exactly as they calculated ? They expected, and 
not without some show of reason, that help, 
either in the shape of money or of men, would 
be sent from Sweden, from England, and from the 
Netherlands. They were confident that Richelieu 
would send a French army into Alsace, and would 
rouse the Italian States that were dependent on 
Austria, so that on the south and west of Europe 
her arms would be fully engaged. They themselves 
would then, in conjunction with others, be opposed 
to the forces of Count Tilly ; the defeat of Austria 
on all sides would be inevitable ; the rich territories 
of the League would lie entirely undefended — what 
was to prevent them marching to Vienna itself ? 


THE CONDITION OF GERMANY. 


23 


Nothing but the fickleness of human promises and 
calculations. Sweden, conducting an advantageous 
war with Poland and Russia, was not inclined 
to accept a secondary position. It stood aloof and 
awaited the result of Denmark’s expedition. The 
Netherlands found that they had as much as they 
could manage in defending themselves against Spain 
and retaining the provinces they had wrested from 
her. England sent a small contribution in money 
and many promises. France remained for a mo- 
ment inactive. The Italian States prudently post- 
poned their rising, and allowed the Imperial cabinet 
of Vienna to turn its attention entirely to the affairs 
of the Union. And to crown all, instead of finding 
themselves opposed by one, the counts found that 
they had to deal with two formidable armies, one 
of which was constructed on the same principle as 
their own and headed by a more brilliant general. 

The Duke of Waldstein, or Wallenstein, a Colo- 
nel of hussars in the army of the League, whose 
possessions in Hungary gave him the enjoyments 
of a princely fortune, saw that it was galling to the 
Emperor to be obliged to leave the defence of his 
empire to the army of Bavaria. Wallenstein’s name 
was already known by his brilliant exploits against 
the Turks ; and his extraordinary daring, coupled 


24 


THE MAID OF STRALSUND. 


with a liberality which no one but himself could 
afford, made him the idol of his regiment. 

When, therefore, he proposed to raise and main- 
tain an army at his own expense, and use it solely 
in the Emperor’s service, provided he were invested 
with the title of generalissimo, his offer, eccentric 
and impossible though it looked, was accepted. In 
less than three months the impossible had been 
done. Wallenstein was at the head of an army of 
30,000 men. Tilly commanded a somewhat larger 
force, and the Union had to fight its way to peace 
as best it could. 

In the two years which now elapsed, from the be- 
ginning of 1626 to 1628, after a series of skirmishes, 
battles, marches, and counter-marches, Wallenstein 
and Tilly were completely victorious. Mansfeldt, 
finding the waters somewhat too troubled for him, 
marched with his army right across Germany into 
Hungary, where finding no employment for his 
troops, he was compelled to disband them. He 
then travelled on towards Venice, but died, before 
arriving there, a melancholy and solitary death. 
The Duke of Brunswick soon followed him to the 
grave. 

The King of Denmark, although endowed with 
great personal courage, was equally unfortunate. 


THE CONDITION OF GERMANY, 


25 

Opposed to two such experienced generals, he 
was defeated at every point. His army, seriously 
diminished in number, drew back into Holstein, 
and was pursued by Wallenstein. The princes of 
the Union, abandoned to their own resources, were 
compelled to make peace at any price. Branden- 
burg, Holstein and Mecklenburg, which latter 
the Duke of Wallenstein had received from the 
Emperor for his pains, were overrun by his army, 
and the towns forced to receive Imperial garrisons 
and acknowledge the right of the Duke of Bavaria 
to the Palatinate. 

It was at this moment, in the beginning of 1628, 
that Stralsund resolved to close its gates and refuse 
to admit the Imperial garrison. Previous to the 
scene described in our opening chapter, Arnheim 
had quietly taken possession of the little island of 
Danholm, which lay immediately in front of the 
town at the distance of about a mile, and from 
which, had he been able to keep it, the town might 
have be$n brought to terms in a few days. A sharp 
contest in the dead of night had resulted in his being 
driven from the island ; and the Danish ships, which 
had brought over four companies of soldiers, had 
destroyed every boat and craft, by means of which 
the attempt might have been renewed. 


2 6 THE maid of stralsund . 

As soon as Arnheim received the refusal, he 
established his batteries opposite two of the three 
principal gates of the city. Stralsund presented 
the appearance of an irregular isosceles triangle, 
with its base resting upon the Baltic. At each of 
the angles there was a strong gate, with a bridge 
across the immense ditch. The two gates at the 
sea-side, of which the eastern was called the Fran- 
ken Thor, and the western the Knipes Thor, did 
not communicate immediately with the town, but 
opened upon the broad and spacious quay. This 
quay, however, was divided from the town by a 
high and well-defended wall, in which six heavy 
iron doors gave access to as many streets. 
These being closed, even if the two gates were 
taken and the quay in the enemy’s hands, the town 
was not by any means hopleessly lost. 

During the month of May the siege was carried 
on with great vigor. Twice the Knipes and Fran- 
ken Thors had been stormed ; but the courage and 
determination of the citizens had averted the dan- 
ger. One Sunday morning, while the greater part 
of the inhabitants were in the churches, a woman, 
who happened to be on the outer wall, saw what 
looked to her like preparations for attack. Giving 
herself but little time to verify her observation, she 


THE CONDITION OF GERMANY. 


27 

ran to the neighboring guard-house, where no one 
was conscious of the approaching danger. Seizing 
a drum, she flung it around her neck and ran 
through the town beating the alarm. In a few 
moments the garrison poured out of the churches 
and to the walls, where the Imperial troops had 
already gained some advantage. For some hours 
that Sunday morning the fate of the town was de- 
spaired of ; but when the sun declined in his course 
the besiegers were once more defeated, and one 
outpost was all they gained by the loss of several 
hundred men. This happened on the 2d of June. 

The citizens, however, foresaw that it would be 
useless to continue the resistance unless some help 
arrived from without. That same Sunday after- 
noon it was resolved to send an embassy to Wal- 
lenstein, whose principal army lay at the time in 
the environs of Frankfort, and learn on what terms 
he could be induced to raise the siege. Cu- 
riously enough, a few hours after the ship with the 
embassy had sailed, four companies of Danes and 
two of Swedes and Scots arrived in the town, bring- 
ing with them a considerable quantity of ammu- 
nition and provisions. It was then unanimously re- 
solved to continue the siege, unless Wallenstein 
should make such terms as could be accepted by the 


28 


THE MAID OF STRALSUND. 


town without dishonor. The deputation, however, 
soon returned with the news that Wallenstein had 
made worse terms than before, — had threatened them 
with terrible vengeance, and had sworn that were 
the town tied to heaven with iron chains he would 
tear it away and make it his. 

On the 1 6th of June the siege was renewed with 
vigor. On the 18th, Wallenstein himself suddenly 
broke up his camp, and passed Frankfort on his way 
to Stralsund. On the 30th, another Swedish rein- 
forcement entered the city, not, however, without 
having to sustain a severe cannonade from the Im- 
perial coast batteries. On the 1st of July the sun 
rose gloriously over the city, and promised a mag- 
nificent day. And now we request our readers to 
follow us to a small house in the city, round which 
for a time our attention must circle. 


CHAPTER III. 

CROSS PURPOSES. 

HHHE weather was beautiful. Under a cloudless 
sky and a bright sun, a cool delicious sea-breeze 
wafted perfume through the air. It was noon by 
the clock of St. Nicholas Church, for the sound of 
its chimes had trembled over Stralsund not many 
minutes ago. The city lay under the glare of the 
sun as passively as did the blue waters of the Bal- 
tic, with barely enough motion to show that it was 
still alive. Where was the fierce activity that had 
stirred its inmost core so lately ? Where was the 
ceaseless roll of the cannon, the pungent smell of 
powder, the hurrying to and fro ? It seemed as if 
a plague had visited the enemy’s lines, for not a 
soul was visible ; not a helmet, not a feather gave 
the watchful and supicious garrison the chance of a 
shot. Treacherous calm ! 

Yet, so long as it lasted, the garrison was thank- 

*9 


3 ° 


THE MAID OF STRALSUND. 


ful to somewhat relax its vigilance. The soldiers, 
not knowing whether it might not be their last 
meal, regaled themselves with such simple fare 
as the already straitened means of the city could 
afford. The burgher went home to his wife to impart 
the hope that perhaps the Imperial leaders had 
thought better of it, and were abandoning the siege. 
It was impossible in the glorious summer weather 
not to feel hope creeping into the heart ; it would 
have been more than human to resist the sense of 
happiness which rest and peaceful quiet conveyed 
to the anxious mind. 

And in the garden at the back of the small house 
in Franken-Strasse, in the shadow of a spreading 
chestnut-tree, a little group presented a striking re- 
semblance to the state of affairs in the city. From 
afar it looked like the personification of peace. A 
maiden was seated on a wooden form, and bent her 
head gracefully over the work in her hand ; a youth, 
dressed in the uniform of the burgher guard reclined 
on the grass at her feet and murmured to her in a 
low voice, and in that broken, incoherent manner 
that seems to belong to the spontaneous utterings 
of the heart. But step closer, and look into that 
face. Are there not the marks of dark, violent, 
ungovernable passion? What mean the clenching 


CROSS PURPOSES . 


31 


of that fist, the sudden lifting of the eye, the throw- 
ing back of the head, and the proud, defiant smile 
that accompany his words ? 

The girl kne\y them, and understood their mean- 
ing better than his words. For she had studied 
him almost since they were betrothed as children, 
and even as a girl she had seldom been at a loss to 
discover her playmate’s inmost mood. And now, 
while her eyes travelled from her handiwork to his 
face, they were filled with a stealthy tear, and a look 
of deep pity came over her beautiful features. 

“ Indeed, Theodore,” said she, “ the mistrust and 
jealousy is all on your own side. Your father has 
no wish, — has no idea of suspecting you, I feel sure 
of that.” 

The youth laughed. It was a short, hard laugh, 
with but little merriment ; and he answered in a 
low voice, as though he were afraid to give full vent 
to his speech: “ You are right, Helena, he no 
longer suspects me. He has already judged, and 
he surrounds me with spies. But let him ; ’twill 
not be for long.” 

The girl’s cheeks flushed. 

“ You wrong hiitf cruelly, ignobly. Could he set 
men to watch you and report your doings ? Could 
he be afraid of your spending money if it affords 


3 2 


THE MAID OF STRALSUND. 


pleasure to the son whom he so dearly loves. Oh, 
fie, Theodore ! ” 

The youth glanced up into her face, — so lovely, 
so sad, and so reproachful ; but as if to harden him- 
self against that influence, his look became gloomier 
than ever. 

“ I expected this,” he said ; “ but I did not expect 
it so soon. I knew that at some time or other you 
would become one of my enemies, like all the rest 
around me. But I had hoped that you at least 
would tarry somewhat, and try to convince yourself 
that he stints me in everything ; that, under the 
pretence of giving me good advice, he humbles me 
daily, because he knows he can make me listen, and 
keeps me away, or tries to separate me, from those 
of my age who are, at least, not wholly selfish. But 
no matter ; it must have come sooner or later.” 

His voice, hard at all times, had become doubly 
hard. His cheeks had flushed with indignation, 
and the young face that might have been radiant 
with hope and love and loyal ambition, was dark 
and worn, as though it looked back upon a finished 
life through years of disappointment. 

Helena had listened with suspended breath, and 
trembled at those words. 

“ Oh, my friend,” she said, laying her hand lightly 


CROSS PURPOSES . 


33 


upon his shoulder, “do you know where this will 
end ? It is too fearful to believe,” and she burst 
out in tears. “ Oh ! God will surely, surely punish 
you for this. Pray, Theodore, pray that He may 
forgive you, and throw yourself into your father’s 
arms to-night.” 

“ He would bid me to be gone,” said Theodore, 
“ or chide me for being a fool. But this seems to 
touch you strangely. Do you then love him so ? ” 

“You know right well that there is no one in 
Stralsund for whom I feel so great an affection.” 

“Indeed! You do not even except your own 
father ? ” 

“ Scarcely. And,” she added, in a soft tone, 
“will he not be my father soon ?” 

“ I doubt it,” answered Theodore, doggedly ; “ at 
least — ” He paused hesitatingly. 

“ At least— what would you say ?” asked Helena, 
bending over him with compassion. 

“At least,” he pursued, sternly, “if your own 
wishes alone were consulted, as they shall be.” 

A look of pain passed over Helenas countenance, 
but she put her hand gently before her lover’s lips, 
and said quietly, “ Hush ! hush ! You would almost 
make me think you spoke in earnest.” 

“ Nay, then ” answered he, “ I do speak in earnest. 


34 


THE MAID OF STRALSUND . 


I am not given to that light-hearted folly and jest 
to which your guests have accustomed your ear. 
I mean it, and I say once more, that if your wishes 
alone are consulted you will have an English father- 
in-law instead of a Stralsunder. And I care not 
how you deny it, for your blushes and your looks 
tell their own tale.” 

Her blushes and her looks told something, beyond 
doubt. Did they acknowledge the truth of his 
words, or had they been summoned by indignation ? 
Or was it sorrow at witnessing another sign of that 
dreadful and suspicious temperament ? It could 
scarcely be that, for drawing away the hand which, 
by a better impulse, he had seized, she said, in a 
tremulous tone, — 

“ What right have you to say those words ? If 
you have no other conversation for me, why do you 
not return to your duty on the walls, and leave me 
at least unmolested ? ” 

“And leave you to my rivals,” said Theodore, 
bitterly. “ My future wife asks me why I come to 
visit her for one short hour out of the twenty-four. 
Unreasonable conduct ! To fly from the well- 
defended walls of a strong city no longer in danger 
to defend a fortress surrounded by enemies of which 
the garrison — 


CROSS PURPOSES . 


35 

“ Silence ! ” said Helena, with heightened color 
and flashing eyes. “ I have promised to be your 
wife, and I will keep my promise. But say not an- 
other word about this foolish suspicion. I have 
never given you the least ground for it, and you 
have no right to insult me. It is enough that we 
are compelled to entertain them as our guests, and 
have their unwelcome presence forced upon us ; 
but you, who should help and aid me in this cir- 
cumstance, need not aggravate it by your cruel 
words ? He> I am sure, would not have done it.” 

Her color was gone, her eye was dimmed with 
tears, her voice was lost in a sob, and Theodore, 
who had risen, felt exceedingly guilty, as he was. 
And yet it was a most unfortunate speech. For he 
had mentioned no name, he had fastened his sus- 
picions on no one ; but the stress which Helena 
laid upon the pronoun showed that, in her mind, at 
least, there was some one more prominent than the 
rest. Some thought like this flashed across the 
young man’s brain, and as he realized it he started, 
— he seized her hand almost rudely, and said : “ It 
is true, then ! There is a he ! ” 

He waited long and earnestly for an answer. But 
when she spoke not, as though too much hurt to re- 
ply, her lover interpreted the silence in his own way. 


36 


THE MAID OF STRALSUND. 


“It is true, then/’ he said, slowly, “that even 
you turn away from me? You, from whom I 
thought I had a right to expect sympathy — from 
whom I had hoped to gain some love ! You too 
have forsaken me for a stranger, — an intruder. 
Hark you, Helena !” — he leaned forward and spoke 
through his set teeth, — “ I know not which of them 
it is, but I can guess. At any rate, I can learn, 
and know it I shall. And then” — he threw her lit- 
tle hand away and clenched his own — “ and then 
let me find him, let me meet him alone, out of your 
sight, and — ” 

The muttered threat would have had no great 
effect upon Helena, had she not known the charac- 
ter of her betrothed. She trembled, and seized his 
hand. At this moment a voice proceeded from the 
house which arrested the words on her lips, and 
the influence of her gentle persuasion was counter- 
acted by an unfortunate sentence in broken Ger- 
man, spoken in jest, but heard in earnest. 

“Aha!” — thus spoke a man’s voice from the 
garden door — “ we have, then, at last trapped the 
fox. What fools we were to hunt him in every 
spot where he was not, and forget the prize that 
draws him hither. Good morrow, fraulein ! I have 
come to drag away your cavalier.” 


CROSS PURPOSES . 


37 


So saying, a young man, dressed in the uniform 
of an officer of the Scottish regiment in the Swedish 
service, stepped out of the house and advanced 
towards the pair. His manner was free and easy, 
and his homely and good-natured face betrayed not 
by as much as a line the consciousness that he was 
interrupting a delicate quarrel. The fox, on the 
contrary, who had just heard that he was trapped, 
eyed the speaker coldly from head to foot, and turn- 
ing with a slight smile towards his betrothed, mut- 
tered softly : “ What did I tell you ? Here is one 
of the hunters, by his own confession. ,, 

Helena did as if she had not heard this speech, 
and greeted the new comer with a frank and charm- 
ing smile. 

“ Are you so determined a hunter, Herr Baver- 
ley,” she said, “ that you must needs puj sue a friend, 
when foes have fled beyond your reach ? ” 

“ Well, fair lady, I confess I like something to 
do, especially when it is so pleasing a commission 
as the driving away of a lover, who, as you well 
know, is my deadly rival.” 

The maid smiled at this innocent piece of jesting, 
for nothing seemed further from his mind than to 
be a rival. The admiration expressed in his looks 
and words were too frank and open. And so her 


38 THE maid of stralsund. 

lover seemed to think ; for after having narrowly 
watched both, his look became calm, and he said, 
in a cold voice, — “ I fear no rivals ; for by the 
unchangeable rules of right and virtue, my cause 
must triumph over yours, even without my inter- 
ference.” 

“ Nay,” answered the other, laughing easily, “ I 
fear your cause cannot triumph over all your rivals, 
since every officer in our regiment, and I trow 
every one in yours, aspires to that position.” 

He made a gallant bow, but observing that the 
conversation did not please her, he addressed him- 
self to the young burgher, began to explain how, 
meeting old Herr Wechter, his father, who was on 
duty at the Tribsee Thor, he had been enjoined, if 
he met his son, to send him on. Theodore listened 
in silence, and eyed the speaker with ill-concealed 
scorn ; but while the latter was yet speaking he 
became conscious of some one’s approach by the 
manner in which young Wechter’s look darkened 
and became fixed upon some object behind him. 
He turned round, and exclaimed in English : “ What 
now, Wyndham ? What brings you here ? Has 
Wallenstein come ? ” 

Wyndham approached his fair hostess with a 
bow, perhaps a trifle too ceremonious, and extended 


CROSS PURPOSES. 


39 

his hand to her lover. There was about him some- 
thing so winning — so thoroughly chivalrous — that 
Theodore took the offered hand without hesitation, 
but also without warmth. He returned the greet- 
ing coolly, and threw a look full of meaning at 
Helena. The maid trembled imperceptibly, but 
not the faintest blush overspread her cheeks. 
None but the closest observer would have discov- 
ered a change in her ; but jealousy, than which no 
observer is more acute, divined her resolution to 
remain easy, and betray by no outward sign the 
wild beating of her heart. Jealousy wanted no 
more than this. 

“ I have to congratulate you, Herr Lieutenant, 
on your promotion/’ said the last arrived, in perfect 
German. “ If this be an earnest of your success 
at arms, I fear not but your career will be glorious.” 

“ Ah me ! ” exclaimed his friend, in his broken 
language, “ thus goes it with us foreigners. We 
are at it for years and come to nothing ; and you — 
you seize the sword for two, three months, and lo, 
you jump at posts and dignities like a bull at a 
haystack.” 

“ You forget, sir, that but now I was, in your 
own words, a hunted fox,” answered Theodore, 
sternly, almost fiercely; and turning to Helena, 


40 


THE MAID OF STRALSUND. 


he whispered, “ I know now. Remember what I 
said, and have a care.” And with a haughty nod 
to both young men he strode towards the house 
and disappeared. 


CHAPTER IV. 


THE ADVENTURE ON THE DANHOLM. 

HIS abrupt departure, and the words Theo- 



-*■ dore had uttered, but most of all the look 
which accompanied them, left the three youthful 
persons gazing at each other with some feelings of 
embarrassment and confusion. An uneasy silence, 
which became each moment more oppressive, 
seemed to have fettered their tongues, until at 
last Lieutenant Baverley recollected that it was he 
who had uttered the words about the hunted fox, 
and said in a tone of regret, — 

“ I should be extremely grieved, fairest lady, if 
aught I had said were to have wounded the feelings 
of Herr Wechter. I earnestly hope that you will 
convey him my apologies, should you meet him ere 


I do.” 


“ I do not think that any excuses are needed, 
Herr Lieutenant, where no offence was given. 


42 


THE MAID OF STRALSUND . 


Theodore repeated your words in no spirit of 
anger, and his tone and looks referred entirely to 
something that ” — she hesitated — “that had passed 
between us before you came.” 

“ Then I warrant that that something was of a 
gloomy and unpleasant nature,” said honest Ba- 
verley, who was too dull at times to perceive that he 
was treading on dangerous ground ; “ and if I were 
a lady’s lover — ” 

He was interrupted by his friend, who started 
impatiently, and said, in a tone, half-jest, half- 
earnest : “ My dear William, ere you can fill so 
delicate a post, you want a deal of schooling, me- 
thinks” 

“ Nay, on the contrary,” said Helena, with a sweet 
smile, but always addressing Baverley, “I think the 
captain too severe in his judgment. You would 
make an admirable cavalier, and should the enemy 
prove too strong for us, and enter the town, I hope 
that I may have no worse protection than your 
sword.” 

Baverley’s face beamed with pleasure, but catch- 
ing a look of disappointment on his friend’s face, it 
struck him that he had received more than his fair 
share of the lady’s favor, and attempted to rectify 
matters after his own fashion. 


THE ADVENTURE ON THE DANHOLM. 


43 


“My sword, Mistress Helena,” he said, “will 
always be at your service. But in that hour of 
need which you spoke of, and which we devoutly 
hope may never come, I feel assured that there 
will be other swords, long before mine can be un- 
sheathed — swords and arms too — that would count 
it an honor to be broken in your protection. Such 
swords, for instance,” he added, by way of further 
explanation, “ as my friend Harry’s. Why, madam, 
he told me only the other day in strict confi- 
dence — ” 

“ Nay, then,” she said, smiling, though some- 
what sadly, “ If it were told you in such strict con- 
fidence, I will not hear it of you, for I would not 
have you break your trust. But how is it that we 
find Captain Wyndham here at the hour of noon, 
when he is supposed to be on duty ? ” 

“ I have come to exchange my helmet for a felt 
hat,” answered Wyndham, “ for surely the heat is 
almost unbearable. I also have a request to you, 
fair fraulein. It is a request for your advice, and 
yours too, William. I have this day met with an 
adventure which puzzles me, and in the following 
of which I dare not trust myself to act without 
some guidance. For I have my misgivings whether 
what I have done be not a breach of duty, and 


44 


THE MAID OF STRALSUND. 


whether what I would do is not more pernicious 
than beneficial in its possible consequences. But 
listen.” He seated himself on the wooden bench 
by her side, unbuckled his sword, and laid it on 
the grass at his feet. “ Early this morning I was 
sent for by Colonel Hoik, who, as you know, is at 
present commander of the city. I found him and 
one of the burgomasters, Kranthoff, in earnest con- 
versation about the Danholm. One of the sentries 
had reported that at early dawn he had distinctly 
heard, and, he thinks, seen, persons rowing from 
the enemy’s camp to the island. He was positive 
he heard the splashing of the water, but whether 
that was occasioned by rowing or swimming he 
cannot say. At any rate, the colonel was extreme- 
ly anxious to ascertain whether the enemy had 
broken their agreement and taken possession of the 
island, as in that case we should have had to dis- 
lodge them at any cost. They commissioned me 
to row across with twenty picked musketeers. I 
had soon chosen my men, and was rowing towards 
the island followed by the other boat, for we filled 
two boats, when a shower of shot and bullets from 
the Imperial battery at the Franken Thor obliged us 
to kneel and lie down in the bottom of the boat. As 
soon as we were out of their reach, we resumed our 


THE ADVENTURE ON THE DANHOLM. 


45 

seats ; but as we were bending down I happened to 
look towards the Danholm, and distinctly perceived 
the figure of a man standing on that perpendicular 
piece of rock that almost rises out of the sea. He 
looked not like a soldier, and ere I could bring my 
telescope to my eye and examine the place, the 
figure was gone. Not knowing what conclusion 
to draw from this apparition, I resolved to land on 
the other side, where the beach is better suited for 
that purpose, since a few men on this side of the 
island might easily have repelled our attempt. But 
when we landed, and explored the island, we found 
no trace of any human being having visited the 
island since it was evacuated by us. Not content 
with this result, however, I resolved to climb to the 
top of the rock, and satisfy myself that no person 
was hidden there. I had interrogated every one of 
my men, but no one had seen anything, and I my- 
self was now inclined to believe that what I had 
seen was a mere hallucination. I soon reached the 
summit of the rock, which presents a most striking 
view of Stralsund and the imperial camp. Our 
respective positions were as clearly shown as though 
they were drawn on a map, and I have already ad- 
vised the colonel to establish a little fortress there 
from which, by the aid of signs, observations of the 


46 


THE MAID OF STRALSUND . 


“ The top of the rock is covered with low copse- 
wood, reaching, I should say, to my knee ; and as 
I was yet beating it aside to ascertain whether it 
might perchance hide some lurking enemy, I fan- 
cied I saw a cleft or crevice in the rock behind me. 
I was right. Beating away the branches of the 
trees that seem to grow out of the side of the rock 
farthest away from the city, I saw before me a cleft 
some six feet wide and about six feet deep. It 
ended narrowly towards the island, and was covered 
at the bottom with dry leaves, and what looked to 
me very much like rags. With a sudden impulse, 
and forgetting that I could not be seen by any of 
my men, for I was hidden by those very trees that 
covered the crevice, I jumped into the opening, 
and alighted on very soft ground. But to my utter 
amazement, I was immediately seized round the 
body from behind, and held as in a vice, while a 
voice whispered in German, * If you utter a sound 
you are a dead man ! ’ ” 

The young captain paused, for he observed in the 
female part of his audience secret signs of alarm. 
His German, unlike that of his friend, was fluent 
and with little accent ; his manner of relation was 
vivid and dramatic. No wonder that the fair lis- 
tener clasped her hands and trembled at his peril. 


THE ADVENTURE ON THE DANHOLM. 


47 

“Be not discomforted/* he said, smilingly, “for 
you see no harm has befallen me ; not even a 
wound have I received.’* 

Helena blushed and resumed her work ; but 
William, who had listened attentively, said sudden- 
ly, “ you have received no wound, it is true, but your 
sleeve has. See, it is torn up to the elbow, and 
rudely sewn together with white thread. Here is 
some work for you, Fraulein Helena, by your leave. 
Had you a scuffle ? ** 

“ Ay, that we had. I felt at once/* thus Wynd- 
ham continued, “ that the arms that held me were 
nervous, but not a match for me in wrestling ; so, 
chancing the fulfilment of the threat, I made a sud- 
den twist, dug my elbow into my antagonist’s ribs, 
for I had perceived that he wore no corselet, and 
in a few seconds I was kneeling on his chest, and 
my hand was on his throat.** 

“ Ha, ha,” laughed William, “ they know nothing 
of our Scottish tricks, these lowland villains. I 
warrant it was a Dutchman, or one of Count 
Mansfeldt’s old thieves.” 

“ He looked a worse rogue than they,” answered 
Harry, — ” a worse rogue than any I have ever 
seen ; and yet there is some good in the villain. 
I know not whether he speaks our tongue, or — ” 


48 THE MAID OF STRALSUND. 

“ Our tongue ! ” ejaculated William ; " was he a 
Scot ? ” 

“ I know not what he is ; but he said in good 
plain English, though with a marvellous accent, 
‘ Spare me, captain ; for the love of the Virgin, spare 
me ! ’ And with that he looked so imploringly at 
me with his black eyes, and through the knotted 
maze of his dark hair, that I had not the heart to 
make his face darker than it was. If I had not 
heard him say those words I would have throttled 
him for a gypsy, for such he looked, and such to all 
appearances, and by his own confession, he is. His 
ragged dress, his tawny hide, and the few gaudy 
rings he wore on his fingers marked him for that 
too ; but his speech was so natural, it could scarce 
have been foreign. I looked for a moment at the 
wild face, and said, * That is a bold request to make 
when you have but now shown me what you mean 
by sparing. Here, help ! ’ and with that I called to 
McDonald, my lieutenant. But ere I could raise 
my voice again the gypsy implored me so piteously 
to call no help, not, at any rate, until I should 
have heard him, that I resolved to hear him, won- 
dering what he could have to say. It came to this. 
He is an Irishman by birth, a vagabond by nature, 
a thief from necessity, and a gypsy by profession. 


THE ADVENTURE ON THE DANHOLM. 


49 

Before this town was besieged he used to visit it 
regularly, and live, I dare say, at the expense of 
some of its inhabitants. But last time he was here, 
his wife — for you must know this man is married 
— fell ill, and deprived him of half his means of 
living, while she doubled the expenses thereof. 
This forced him to be somewhat bolder and 
sharper in his dealings than he would have been, 
and one evening he was forced to fly out of the 
town, leaving his wife behind him in a miserable 
garret.” 

“ Stay,” interrupted Helena, “ methinks I know 
that woman ; at least, there is a poor gipsy woman 
in the hospital now who was found by Herr Wech- 
ter in a miserable garret, almost starving. She is 
recovering, — in truth, she is recovered, and would 
be dismissed from the cares of charity were it not 
that she has no place to go to. I feel assured that 
this is the same woman, for she told me even to-day 
that she greatly fears her husband is dead. For 
though the town is besieged, she says, he would 
have found some means of entering it and coming 
to her help. 

And so he would,” said Wyndham, “ had I not 
bearded him in his very den. He told me he in- 
tended to swim across to-night to the city and en- 
4 


THE MAID OF STRALSUND. 


5 ° 

deavor to get in ; if not to-night — to-morrow night, 
until he was either successful or caught. He tried 
last night, and failed. That probably was the sound 
the sentry heard. But now comes the difficulty. 
His lamentable tale of woe, his motherless children 
— for he has three young children somewhere in 
Poland, he said — and his own grief, made me forget 
my duty. I did not only not take him with me as 
a prisoner and spy, but I promised to help him if I 
could. But now that I consider the affair, methinks 
I have committed two blunders. I have, firstly, 
promised what I cannot fulfil ; and secondly, I have 
not fulfilled what I promised. -You see, I stand in 
need of all your counsels/’ 

“ It looks bad,” said William, after a pause, “ if 
not to us, to others. Who knows but that these 
two are in reality spies, playing into each other’s 
hands, and intending to learn the secrets of this 
town under the protection of our pity ? ” 

“ Nay, then, Herr Lieutenant,” said Helena, 
“ ’twere best to let this woman join her husband 
outside as soon as possible. That she was really 
ill there is no doubt, and the nature of her grati- 
tude appears to me too genuine to be a mere dis- 
guise. Besides, she has seen nothing of the 
condition of Stralsund, except as far as it could be 


THE ADVENTURE ON THE DANHOLM. 


5 1 

seen in the hospital, and she cannot but believe 
that there is health and plenty in the town. It were 
perhaps the best polity, as well as the greatest 
mercy, to let her go.” 

“ Thank you, fair fraulein,” said the captain. “ I 
feel that you have hit upon the solution. But how 
shall we contrive to let her go ? ” 

“ Why, as to that,” said Baverley, “ you must 
consult Colonel Hoik.'’ 

“ Colonel Hoik ! ” cried Wyndham, in amaze- 
ment ; “ why, good William, you are jesting. You 
know that Colonel Hoik is as jealous of us Swedes 
and Scots as ever soldier was of another. And 
if he knew how I had neglected my duty this 
morning, he would have me before court-martial to 
night ; I feel assured of that. I would far rather 
consult Lord Hamilton, our own commander. He 
will advise us what to do.” 

“ Well, let us go at once, then, ere it grow late. 
And that reminds me that I should have gone 
before to Herr Wechter, who awaits me at the 
Franken Thor. I shall meet you at the St. Jacoba 
barracks. But, hark you, keep your helmet on ; I 
fear this silence bodes us no good, and we have hot 
work before us.” 

He went, and his friend rose to follow him. 


THE MAID OF STRALSUND . 


5 2 

Helena rose too at this, but with some embarrass- 
ment in her looks. Baverley’s last words had re- 
minded her of the scene with her betrothed, and 
his threat. Its dreadful meaning came upon her 
with full force, and made her tremble. She laid 
her hand timidly on the young soldier’s arm and 
arrested his departure. 

“ Herr Captain,” she said hesitatingly, “ I have 
terrible misgivings that some dreadful event is going 
to happen to you. Indeed it is more than a mis- 
giving. I pray you be cautious and guarded, and 
let not your passions be roused by any provoca- 
tion.” 

“ Nay, fraulein, I understand you not. Has some 
one threatened me ? I knew not that I had an 
enemy.” 

“ Nor did I until to-night,” said she, blushing, 
and with tears in her eyes ; “ but oh, take care, for 
his passion is dreadful and uncontrollable.” 

He understood whom she meant, and his heart 
gave a leap ; for he saw at a glance what it must 
have cost her to give him that warning against her 
own betrothed. He kissed her hand and left her 
in silence. 


CHAPTER V. 


THE QUARREL. 

/CAPTAIN WINDHAM slowly directed his 
steps towards the St. Jacoba barracks situat- 
ed at the back of the St. Jacoba church. Standing 
armies were in those days little known, and barracks, 
consequently, there were few, except in the resi- 
dences of emperors and kings, whose body-guard 
always had a building for themselves. In times of 
war, when soldiers were levied everywhere, and 
when besieged towns had to support a force for 
which little or no provision had been made, they 
were generally quartered upon the citizens ; and 
their uncouth and violent behavior made the bur- 
den of war fall with double severity upon every 
family. The magistrates of Stralsund had under- 
stood this, and endeavored as far as possible to meet 
the difficulty. An empty warehouse, which in times 
of prosperity had been used for storing grain and 


54 


THE MAID OF STRALSUND, 


other staple commodities, was fitted up as barracks. 
It produced an undoubted relief for the citizens ; 
but on the other hand it was found that this 
advantage was almost balanced by an evil, very 
natural indeed, but more rapidly developed than 
cured. A number of soldiers thus brought to- 
gether under one roof, neither restrained by the 
hardships of a field campaign, nor diverted from 
evil companionship by the continual change of 
scene, were not long in sinking to that low level of 
morality which was formerly only indicated by the 
exceptional example of the worst among their num- 
bers. The officers, too, especially of the Danish 
forces, were far from giving their troops an example 
of that chivalrous spirit and that conscientious en- 
deavor to abstain from quarrels which formed one 
of the most important of their published resolutions. 

There was, it is true, a vast difference between 
their conduct and the gross debauchery that reign- 
ed in the Imperial army. But there was also a 
vast difference in the discipline that reigned on 
either side of the walls of Stralsund. There were 
two things that combined to spread a spirit of dis- 
satisfaction and strife amongst the garrison. There 
was want, and there was jealousy. 

Stralsund, which presented to the enemy its 


THE QUARREL. 


55 


impregnable bastions, defended by dauntless and 
dogged warriors, was nevertheless in itself a scene 
of petty strife and fierce, though bloodless, conten- 
tion. It was possessed by three rival powers. The 
citizens, determined to hold out to the very last 
and to retain their liberty, had enrolled themselves 
as one man, and formed the burgher-guard. The 
Danish garrison, commanded by Colonel Hoik, had 
arrived in the town before the siege had well begun ; 
and in the absence of the promised help from 
Sweden, that officer had been chosen as military 
commander. He was a man of undoubted talents, 
but of morose and unsociable temperament. He had 
few friends, but he might have had many admirers 
had he not taken care to make himself so many 
enemies. Never very popular even amongst his 
own troops, he became less so when Swedish help 
arrived under Lord Hamilton. It even began to be 
suspected that he purposed playing the town into 
Danish hands as soon as the siege was raised. 
It was hinted and whispered that several of the 
young officers in the burgher-guard had received 
tempting offers to enter the Danish army, should 
they assist in bringing this about. And it was 
feared that not a few had tacitly accepted, or but 
faintly rejected, such proposals. It was at any rate 


5 6 THE maid of stralsund . 

certain that there existed a much more agreeable 
intercourse between the Danes and the Stralsun- 
ders than between them and the Swedes and Scots. 

The magistrates and town-council of the be- 
sieged city, whom these rumors had not escaped, 
were alarmed, and put on their guard. Christian 
of Denmark was preferable to Wallenstein or Fer- 
dinand ; but to escape the latter by submitting to 
the former appeared to them a very poor reward 
for their present self-negation and valor. The 
acts of the colonel were therefore closely watched, 
and a silent resolution was taken that at the first 
opportunity he should be deprived of the com- 
mand. A new supply of help, under two experienced 
and popular officers, was every day expected from 
Sweden, and it was understood that their arrival 
would give the desired opportunity. 

The relations, meanwhile, between the Swedes 
and the Danes were far from amicable. The ne- 
cessities of discipline prevented an open rupture, 
and outward courtesy between officers was strictly 
enforced ; but the men, less accustomed to control, 
and not so easily managed, were often engaged in 
petty squabbles, which it needed every attention to 
prevent spreading into a contention that would 
speedily have ended in disaster. 


THE QUARREL. 


57 

When Captain Wyndham approached the street 
in which the barracks were situated, he was agree- 
ably surprised in meeting with one of his own 
countrymen who had been wounded two days be- 
fore. It was thought at the time that the wound 
was highly dangerous, and that the invalid would 
not recover ; but he now limped towards the cap- 
tain with a beaming face, exclaiming, — 

“ Well met, my friend! well met! You see, I 
am not one of the dead yet, although that vile 
chirurgeon would have it so. When h$ saw that 
I had a bullet in my thigh, it actually occurred to 
him to try to fish it out, instead of cutting about 
and bleeding me to death. And lo ! the fellow had 
not been busy more than a few minutes, when out 
came a small piece of lead that would have poisoned 
my whole body. You see, I am almost well again.” 

“ I am delighted, Dunnellan, for we could not 
well afford your loss at present. I am told that 
you received some letters from England by yester- 
day’s ship. I expect some, and I am anxious to 
know how affairs are in London. Are you advised 
at all?” 

“ Advised and ill-advised, it seems to me, for 
such a load of wrongs and complaints as these 
Londoners now utter would make us think their 


5 8 THE maid of steals und . 

lot uncommon hard. There’s nothing but the king, 
the king, the king ; and when the king slips out of 
their reach they fasten their foul spite upon my 
Lord Buckingham. They’re very like my chirur- 
geon, who, when he saw that he might not cut 
off my leg, would needs cut off my arm, or at least 
my hand, as a kind of compensation.” 

“ Come, good Dunnellan, ” answered Wyndham, 
with a slight laugh, “ I think I see the reason 
of your discontent with these Londoners. Some 
fair lady at court has written you a letter full of ad- 
miration for my Lord Buckingham. But I doubt 
you would rather fight the Poles under Sir Alex- 
ander Leslie, than go with the duke to Rochelle 
and get beaten by the French. I fear he is an evil 
counsellor and a wretched soldier. But what is 
this tumult I hear ? What can have roused the 
people ? ” 

Ere Dunnellan could answer, there came funning 
towards them a Swedish soldier, his yellow locks 
flying in the wind, his leathern jacket thrown open ? 
and his whole dress showing signs of disorder. 

“ Quick, captain ! ” he cried in Swedish. “ There 
is mischief brewing at the barracks. Your Scot- 
tish men look as if they wanted blood, and some 
of the Danes are in no peaceful mood either.” 


THE QUARREL. 


59 

Without pausing to ascertain the cause of the 
disturbance, Wyndham and his companion at once 
turned towards the barracks. The narrow street 
resounded with the clamor of quarrel, and the 
gateway which gave access to a yard, was filled 
with soldiers who expressed their indignation in 
loud shouts of “ To the rescue ! ” “ Bundle these 

Danes out of the house. ,, 

It was with some difficulty that Wyndham pushed 
his way through this crowd ; for although they 
were his own men, they were too much excited to 
ascertain who it was that endeavored to pass them. 
At last, however, he gained the courtyard, and here 
he saw at once what it was that so ruffled their 
spirits. It had been enacted by the authorities of the 
town, that in order to put some check to the frequent, 
squabbles of the armed men, those who were found 
quarrelling should be seized, handed over to their 
commanding officer, and receive a certain number 
of lashes, according to the quality of the offence. 
The courtyard was nearly square. In one corner 
of it a company of Danes, armed to the teeth, 
formed a wall bristling with sharp steel points, 
which so effectually cut off the angle that the few 
persons within it had not a chance of escape. The 
rest of the yard was filled with Scots and Swedes, 


6o 


THE MAID OF STRALSUND. 


who were pressing more and more closely upon 
the extended spikes. Some were trying the edges 
of their swords upon the polished points, others 
looked with ominous attention at the locks of their 
immense horse-pistols, while the greater number 
were shouting to some one within the enclosed an- 
gle, and exhorting him to remain firm and not to 
surrender. And there, with the fiery locks stream- 
ing over his broad forehead, his teeth firmly set, his 
brawny fist clutching the two-edged sword of the 
Scottish musketeers, stood a tall, almost gigantic 
Scot, who looked as if he intended fully to follow 
up the advice of his clansmen. His back was 
against the angle, and his eyes were fixed on five 
Danes, who were evidently instructed to seize him, 
but who found their duty somewhat difficult. 

As Wyndham’s eyes flew over all this, he saw at 
a window close to the imprisoned Scot three 
figures, one of which he immediately recognized. 
It was Theodore Wechter ; and, as their eyes met, 
Wyndham felt instinctively that he was the origin- 
ator of this tumult, and that his intention lay deep- 
er than the mere seizure of that soldier. 

Meanwhile his appearance on the scene had si- 
lenced the occupants of the court. All eyes turned 
with eager expectation to the spot where the plume 


THE QUARREL. 6 1 

of his helmet could be seen, and followed it to 
the window occupied by the officers. 

“ Are you the officer in command of this guard ? ” 
courteously inquired Wyndham of the Danish offi- 
cer who stood by Wechter’s side. “ If so have 
the goodness to explain to me the nature of this 
tumult.” 

“ I cannot satisfy your curiosity, sir captain,” 
answered the Dane, shrugging his shoulders. “ I 
must refer you to my neighbor. He begged me to 
command my men to seize yon Scot ; indeed, he 
did so himself, and promised to take all the respon- 
sibility.” 

Wyndham raised his eyebrows as though he 
were astonished, and glanced inquiringly at young 
Wechter. 

“ I am not aware, sir, that I owe you an explana- 
tion,” said the latter, indifferently; “ I shall do 
what the law says, and hand him over to my Lord 
Hamilton. He, I believe, is the commanding 
officer.” 

“ Nay, then, I will have nothing more to do with 
the business,” cried the Dane. “ I am weary of 
these continual differences that begin and end in 
words. 'If you will not use this moment to settle 
what, I presume, is scarcely worth the while, help 


62 


THE MAID OF STRALSUND. 


yourself. I shall hand the prisoner over to his cap- 
tain.” And leaning out of the window, he gave 
the command to fall out. The pikes were raised, 
the men fell into disorder, and with half-sullen, 
half-contented faces, made way for the liberated 
Scot, who strode up to his captain, and handed him 
his sword. 

“ They would have had a tough job in taking this 
thing from me, captain,” said he, in broad Scotch, 
and with a look of defiance at Wechter; “for I 
would have died ere I would have been flogged by 
any but my own sergeant.” 

A quick flush spread over Wyndham’s face ; but 
before he could utter a word Dunnellan said, look- 
ing fixedly at the young burgher, “ Did you intend 
to administer punishment to a Scottish soldier, my 
young sir ? ” 

“ Had you but come a few moments later, you 
would have witnessed it,” was the curt reply. 
“ But I am quite willing to transfer it to some one 
else, if he be not afraid.” 

“ Afraid ! ” cried the other, growing purple with 
rage. “ See, there’s my answer ! ” And plucking 
the leathern glove from his hand, he hurled it at 
the young burgher. Wyndham caught his hand 
just in time to . cause it to fall harmless to the 


THE QUARREL. 63 

ground. But the insult had been given, and the 
two men looked at each other defiantly, while a 
cheer broke from the Scots who had crowded round 
the two officers, and who perfectly understood the 
meaning of the little pantomime. 

“What a fool you are, Dunnellan,” whispered 
Wyndham ; “ you know we cannot allow a duel ; 
and what is the meaning of this provocation ? I 
charge you on your honor to give him no meeting, 
for I fear his hatred is not against you, but against 
me. He must have known that Roger is mybody- 
servant.” 

“ Ay, captain, and methinks that is the reason 
he would have flogged me,” said Roger ; “ for he 
came here not many moments ago, looking as dark 
as a thunder-cloud, and saw me wrestling in this 
yard with a Dane whom I had thrown to the 
ground in fair fight. ‘ Ah ! that is Wyndham’s 
servant/ said he ; ‘ it is time we made an example 
of him and his master.’ And with that he caused 
me to be arrested by the guard. It is a good thing 
that our men were near at hand.” 

Wyndham shook his head and replied noth- 
ing. The men, seeing that the difference had 
been settled, retired. Roger, whom his master 
consigned to the charge of a sergeant, was led 


64 THE maid of stralsund . 

away, and Wyndham and Dunnellan remained 
alone. 

“ Promise me that, whatever happens, you will 
not fight with that young hot-heated fool,” said 
Wyndham. 

“ I cannot promise that ; the honor of our regi- 
ment is involved.” 

“ Then I must hasten to Lord Hamilton to see 
that it is prevented ; for I feel certain that he bears 
you no ill-will, but me, and I cannot consent to 
change hands with you.” He left the barracks 
with a hasty step, but had scarcely turned the cor- 
ner of the St. Jacoba street when a cannon-shot 
came howling through the air. It was followed by 
others in rapid succession, and in a few minutes 
war was once more busy around the city. 


CHAPTER VI. 


DISMOUNTING THE “ DEMON.” 

HE guns of the Imperial batteries, which had 



been silent the whole of that morning, now 
began playing upon the three principal gates of 
Stralsund with redoubled force, and were answered 
from within with equal energy. As Captain Wynd- 
ham reached the house where Lord Hamilton had 
been quartered, he was met by an orderly, who com- 
municated to him that an attack upon the Franken 
Gate seemed to be preparing, and that his company 
was forming upon the quay. Lord Hamilton was 
already there, as the orderly said, to give them “ tit 
for tat.” Wyndham immediately turned about, and 
going round by the Town Hall, intended crossing 
the market, that being the shortest way to the 
quay. But as he turned the corner of the building, 
several people came running towards him with evi- 
dent signs of alarm. At the same moment, pieces 
of slate of no contemptible size fell within a few 


5 


66 


THE MAID OF STRALSUND . 


yards of him into a thousand shivers, and a loud 
crash convinced him that something unusual had 
happened. 

He was not long kept in doubt. Quickly run- 
ning round the Town Hall, he followed the gaze of 
the few people whom fright and consternation had 
not completely overtaken, and just as he lifted his 
eyes to the magnificent spires of St. Nicholas 
church, another crash, louder than before, and a 
shower of slate that made his position extremely 
dangerous, told him that the besiegers had suc- 
ceeded in aiming one of their guns at the spire, and 
would set the church on fire before the sun had set. 
Not a moment was to be lost. Seizing his sword 
in one hand and his helmet in the other, he ran to 
the quay. Soldiers met him everywhere, for by 
this time the drums sounded the alarm all over the 
town. The enemy did not seem to have spent their 
morning without profit ; for as he ran along the 
quay he could see that some of the most prominent 
of the jetties which ran out into the sea were being 
shot to pieces, the balls making sad havoc amongst 
the boats that were tied to them. Breathless and 
panting, he arrived at the Church of the Holy 
Ghost, and found the whole of the Scottish regi- 
ment drawn up behind it. Baverley gazed at him 


DISMOUNTING THE “DEMON.” 67 

in amazement, but he interrupted him with the im- 
patient question : “ Where is Lord Hamilton ? ” 

“ He is at the bastion, commanding the guns. . I 
spoke to him about the woman, and he will not hear 
of it.” 

“ Woman ? what woman?” asked Wyndham, 
whom the whole circumstance had escaped. 

“ The gypsy woman of whom you spoke but 
now.” 

Wyndham uttered an impatient exclamation, and 
turned towards the bastion, when another crash and 
several exclamations stopped him. Pieces of slate, 
splinters, and stones, were flying about, and several 
of the Scots sank down, wounded and stunned. 
The Holy Ghost Church seemed another aim for 
the Imperial guns. He paused for a moment, 
looked thoughtfully at the spire and at the men, 
and calling Baverley to him, pointed to some sheds 
in the distance, saying, “ Take the men away from 
the church, and post them near those sheds. I 
think they have an object in aiming at these spires. 
I am going to the bastion.” 

The bastion was enveloped in a cloud of smoke, 
and presented a scene of great activity. Heaps of 
shot, neatly piled, lay on the ground. The swarthy 
gunners, looking grim and ominous, like their guns, 


68 * THE maid of stralsund. 

were silently doing their work. Leaning against 
the parapet, or kneeling on the ground, so as to 
escape the bullet of the enemy, they kept their 
eyes fixed upon their officers, jumping to their post 
at the word of command, and performing their duty 
with firm-set teeth, or even with a muttered joke. 
A small group of officers sat on the ground, with a 
plan of the works before them on a drum. They 
were in earnest discussion, and frequently referred 
to the drawing. 

“ I am totally at a loss what to make of them,” 
said one. “ Yesterday they were pounding away 
at the Franken Gate as if they intended to burn all 
their powder in reducing it to ruins, and this bastion 
was scarcely safe for a dog to be in ; and now they 
take no more notice of us than if we were still in 
Poland.” 

“ And no wonder, my lord,” returned Wyndham, 
who had overheard the last part ; “and to my 
thinking there is great reason in what they do.” 

“ Hallo, my dear Wyndham,” said a Swedish 
officer ; “ what makes you so heated ? It’s surely a 
bad sign to see an officer run himself out of breath ? ” 

“ And so would you be if you saw the tiles and 
slate flying about as thick as hail. My lord, there 
is not a moment to be lost if we would spare the 


DISMOUNTING THE “ DEMON” 69 

St. Nicholas church. You know the enemy have 
two immense guns, as powerful as all the others 
put together, and which we call Demons. I am 
convinced that one of these has been aimed at the 
church, and they will begin shooting with red-hot shot 
when they have knocked the spire down. It is just 
within range of your bastion, and you might silence 
it” 

“The demon ! ” exclaimed Lord Hamilton ; “why 
that gun is in their most northern battery, and 
almost opposite this ravelin,” and he pointed with his 
finger to the map. “ It is entirely out of our range, 
and to silence it from the Franken Gate itself is im- 
possible, for almost every gun there is dismounted.” 

“ Down, captain ! down ! ” shouted one of the 
gunners ; “ they can see your helmet and feather 
and they are taking aim ; I can see the gleam of 
their muskets.” 

At the same moment a volley of musketry rang 
from over the water, and the bullets whistled over 
their heads and crashed through the foliage of the 
trees. Wyndham took the warning and sank on 
one knee, when a terrible report shook the earth 
and a black cloud of smoke enveloped them. A 
short and grim laugh went up from amongst the 
gunners. 


70 


THE MAID OF STRALSUND . 


“ That is the way, sir ; show them we have some 
powder left.” 

“Who said the demon was in their northern 
battery ? ” asked Wyndham. “ It is wrong ; I am 
convinced of it. They could not aim at the side of 
the St. Nicholas from there, but the balls would 
strike her in the back ; and now they hit her full 
in the side, so they must have removed the gun. 
Where is the plan ? ” 

“ Here,” said Lord Hamilton, laying his hand on 
it. “ See, they are assembling their men in the 
trenches. We saw them paraded before our eyes, 
and we heard the bugles sounding. They are going 
to try an assault at the Franken Gate, and want 
to keep us engaged ; that seems to me their 
intention.” 

At this moment an orderly hurried up, and sa- 
luting Lord Hamilton, informed him that the enemy 
had thrown a bomb on the market-place, by the 
St. Maria church, and had effected an immense 
amount of damage, as two regiments were drawn up 
there in anticipation of the assault. 

“ This proves my theory,” exclaimed Wynd- 
ham, almost joyously. “You see what their real 
intention is. They make us believe that they are 
going to assault the Franken Gate, and so draw all 


DISMOUNTING THE " DEMON: 


71 


our men into the streets ; in the mean time they aim 
their shot at the spires of the churches, or throw 
bombs on the market-place, — mind you, on the 
market-place , — where in all probability the soldiers 
would be drawn up, and where consequently they 
can inflict the greatest amount of damage to the 
garrison. I can see — ” 

Another officer of the Danish troops here ap- 
peared on the scene, and threw a hasty look around 
him. 

“ Colonel Hoik presents his compliments to your 
lordship and — 7 

“ Down, sir officer ! down ! ” again sounded the 
warning from the gunner, but this time too late. 
A. tremendous volley of musketry, far exceeding the 
first, crashed upon them. The officer staggered, 
turned pale, threw up his handstand sank backward 
on the ground, a small stream of blood trickling 
from his lips. Lord Hamilton started up with an 
exclamation of impatience, and ran to the wounded 
man. Wyndham did the same; but as he glanced 
at the pale face, on which the color of death was 
already settling, he recognized to his grief the 
young Danish officer with whom the conversation 
in the barracks had commenced. A bullet seemed 
to have pierced his throat, having slipped in be- 


THE MAID OF STRALSUND. 


7 2 

tween the corselet and the steel collar. His head 
hung heavily upon Wyndham’s arms as he lifted it 
and raised the heavy helmet. The dark brown hair 
fell in a disorderly mass over the pallid forehead, and 
the blue veins in which his life's blood was already 
flowing tardily, stood out perceptibly, as upon a 
piece of polished marble. For a moment only the 
three officers stood around their comrade in silence. 
The exigencies of war leave but little time for those 
gentler thoughts, which its terrible effects call forth 
in the sympathetic mind. The cries of battle drown 
the sigh of pity. 

With knitted brow Lord Hamilton turned to- 
wards some of the gunners, and ordered them to 
carry the body to the hospital. Then glancing 
again at the plan on the drum, he said, in a stern 
and determined voice, “ These muskets must be 
silenced. What advise you, sirs ? ” 

“My lord," said Wyndham, taking the plan in 
his hands, “ allow me to give you my opinion of 
the real danger, and the mode of checking it. The 
enemy have thrown up opposite this bastion three 
redans, of which the one nearest the sea — But what 
is this ? ” said he, looking again at the plan, and throw- 
ing it aside with a movement of disdain ; “ this plan 
is signally wrong. See here — this is the position. 


DISMOUNTING THE “DEMON: 


73 


I made this map carefully myself this morning from 
my observations at the Danholm ; I could see the 
immense demon in this second redan as plainly as 
I see you. This is where it is ; and there we must 
direct our fire. I pray you line the parapet with 
our musketeers ; their locks carry a fair distance, 
and their aim is sure. I will forfeit my life there is 
no attack intended on the gate. ’Tis but a ruse.” 

“You are very right, Wyndham, I believe,” ex- 
claimed Hamilton ; “ how could I be so foolish as 
not to see it ? Strange, too, that this plan should be 
so wrong, for ’twas drawn by a young burgher of 
great promise, so Hoik told me, who seemed to fos- 
ter some affection for him. But be it so. Take 
you the guns, Wyndham, and pound away ; dis- 
mount that dangerous demon, and your name will 
be mentioned to the king. And you, sir,” to a 
sergeant, “ bid Lieutenant Baverley march all his 
muskets close to the parapet towards this bastion, 
and let him spare no powder. These Imperialists 
fight without fear. They are all washed with the 
holy water, and they think their sins are absolved, 
so they should be ready for purgatory. I’ll to 
the colonel, whose young friend deserves to be put 
in the public stocks, — and he shall be, if I have 
aught to say here.” 


74 


THE MAID OF STRALSUND. 


Wyndham now closely examined the enemy’s 
lines, and soon recognized the position of his de- 
moniacal antagonist. Close application to the the- 
ories of that genius in the science of fortification, 
Koevoet, had made our captain master of his gun. 
It was not long ere his shots, carefully aimed and 
repeated with rapidity, told upon the Imperial bat- 
tery. For one hour and a half an incessant cannon- 
ade was kept up. 

The enemy, perceiving that some new spirit 
possessed the guns of the besieged, directed their 
full fire to the obnoxious bastion. This was exactly 
what Wyndham wanted. He had calculated that 
when their attention was entirely directed to the 
Holy Ghost bastion, but little notice would be 
taken of the guns at the Franken Gate, which had 
been silent as yet. He therefore left the bastion 
under the superintendence of Dunnellan, and slip- 
ped around to the Gate. It was as he had expected. 
The enemy exposed themselves as if no Franken 
Gate existed, and he was able, without them notic- 
ing his movements, to aim two of his guns almost 
exactly at right angles with the direction of the 
fire from the bastion. The demon, an immense 
gun, which, with its counterpart on the other 
side of the town, was doing terrible damage, had 


DISMOUNTING THE “ DEMON: 


75 


poured its shot upon the bastion with fatal pre- 
cision. Wyndham watched the black muzzle slip 
out of the embrasure and vomit out its red thunder. 
Then he slowly bent down and aimed one of his 
guns carefully, saying, with a grim smile, to the 
gunner, “ The moment I say fire, drop the match.” 

For a longer period than usual the terrible demon 
kept the listeners waiting. All eyes were strain- 
ed ; some ventured to announce it when the flash 
of the minor gun dazzled their eyes. But Wynd- 
ham silently regarded through his glass the par- 
ticular spot where the muzzle was to appear, with- 
out attending to what went on around him. 

“ Fire,” he whispered, at last. Off went the gun, 
and the eager party were enveloped in a cloud of 
smoke. When it cleared up no muzzle appeared. 
The demon was dismounted, and from that moment 
never answered its mate from the other side of the 
walls. 


CHAPTER VII. 


AFTER THE FRAY 


S the shades of night stole over the contend- 



^ ing parties, the fire from their guns became 
gradually less frequent, and the dull boom and 
thud that had filled the air for six hours at last 
gave place to an almost death-like silence. When 
it became clear to those of the city that no attack 
was intended, the garrison, which had been so 
hastily assembled, was dismissed ; and those of the 
inhabitants whose only means of defence and war- 
fare was prayer, once more thanked God that, at 
least for that moment, the imminent peril had 
subsided. 

Captain Wyndham, who was naturally very 
proud of his success at the bastion, knew his duty 
too well to remain at a post which was not strictly 
his, a moment longer than he could help. It was 
with pleasure therefore that he received the order 


AFTER THE FRAY. 


77 

to dismiss his men ; having done which he took 
his friend’s arm, intending to go home and snatch 
a little rest. But Baverley was one of those men, 
fortunate or unfortunate, as the case may be, in 
whose head only one idea rules supreme at one 
time. Indeed, that circumstance was the principal 
cause of his having accompanied his friend across 
the seas. They were both sons of well-to-do land- 
holders in one of the southern counties in Scotland, 
and probably would have followed their fathers’ 
peaceful occupation had it been left to William 
Baverley’s choice.' But in this, as in most other 
matters of great importance, Wyndham generally 
decided for both, Baverley’s one great idea being 
to stick to his friend and follow him wherever he 
went. 

Wyndham’s soul had been fired by the accounts 
he had heard of the doings of his countrymen, some 
of them very well known to him, who had gone 
over to Holland or Sweden, to fight under Prince 
Maurice of Nassau, or the young King of Sweden. 
When he expressed a wish to join Sir Alexander 
Leslie in Sweden, his father gave a reluctant con- 
sent, but was pleased in his heart that the old spirit 
of the family had not yet died out. For the Wynd- 
hams had been of English origin, but had been for 


JS the maid of stralsund. 

centuries settled in the North, and some of them 
fell at Flodden. 

Seeing Harry determined, it needed very little 
for Baverley to make up his mind ; and so irrevoca- 
bly was this done that his father, having to choose 
between giving his consent or seeing his son go off 
without it, wisely chose the former, and sent him 
off equipped to the best of his ability. From that 
time the two friends were scarcely ever out of each 
other’s sight, fought side by side, and tasted the 
hardships and pleasures of a soldier’s life in com- 
mon. But the natural boldness a*nd energy as well 
as the greater intelligence of Wyndham soon 
marked him out for promotion ; and it is thus that 
we see him captain after three years’ service, while 
his friend, who cheerfully' acknowledged his supe- 
riority, remained lieutenant. As they were walk- 
ing together towards Pastor Hermann’s house, 
where they were domiciled, Baverley looked up, 
after a moment’s pause, and said, “ And what said 
my Lord Hamilton to you ? I warrant it was not 
overmuch, for he seemed mighty curt to me this 
morning.” 

“Nay, I did not plague him with my private 
concerns on such a day as this. ’Tis like enough 
he should be curt to any one. And, indeed, I had 


AFTER THE FRA Y. 


79 

no need to ask him about anything, and least of all 
about this poor gypsy woman. My own judgment 
tells me what I had better do.’' 

“ I should let her remain for the present, at any 
rate,” said Baverley, “ especially after what we have 
had this afternoon.” 

“ Ay, and what is more, I am truly sorry that I 
ever allowed that villain, that gypsy or whatever he 
was, to escape my hands ; for I fear me he has 
made better use of his position on the top of that 
rock than I believed he would. I could wager my 
commission to a pound Scots that he made a 
survey of the town and all the market-places, and 
thus directed their fire to the most harmful spots.” 

“ We’ll have no wagers, if you please, for you 
know they are pacta illicita , or unlawful bargains ; 
and anything unlawful comes from the devil, as I 
firmly believe that gypsy did. But what you say 
about his having used the information he got on 
the top of that rock seems very probable. At any 
rate, I know Pastor Hermann’s church is sorely 
havocked, and Dunnellan was wounded in the head 
and carried off, bleeding, so that I pitied him.” 

“ Dunnellan ! ” exclaimed Wyndham ; “ why, he 
has scarce recovered from his other wound. Let 
us go to the hospital and see whether he be there. 


go THE MAID OF STRALSUND. 

There is a wounded Dane, too, whom I should like 
to see ; though his dimmed eye and blanched lips 
told a silent tale of hastening death. But let us go. 
He may be alive still.” 

The hospital, a small building in the western part 
of the town, was filled with wounded. Those two 
demons had committed sad ravages among the 
garrison ; and the small rooms, badly ventilated 
and badly lighted, contained many a life hovering 
on the borders of death. But here, amidst these 
scenes of suffering almost unbearable, where men 
in the prime of life were thrown down, never per- 
haps to rise again, — where spirits, an hour ago 
buoyant and fearless, were slowly sinking into 
unconsciousness, ministering angels were softly 
stealing from crib to crib, and noiselessly, tenderly, 
and skilfully attending to the wants of the suf- 
ferers. 

Wyndham and Baverley entered quietly, and in 
a whisper asked the sentry on guard whether an 
officer of the Scots had been brought in during the 
firing. The man could give them no precise infor- 
mation, but thought that if he were in the hospital 
he must be in the room immediately to the right 
of the entrance, since all the wounded had been 
carried thither. Meeting no one to whom they 


AFTER THE FRA Y. 8 1 

could apply for more direct information, they 
entered the room, but paused on the threshold. 
Beds had been improvised on the floor in a some- 
what irregular manner, owing to the unexpected 
number of casualties. A lamp suspended from 
the ceiling threw a faint and smoky light upon the 
occupants, and gave their faces a yellowish color. 
But one bed, in the corner farthest from the door, 
was strongly illuminated, and upon it the attention 
of such of the patients as had preserved sufficient 
strength was riveted. 

A wounded man was supported in the arms of a 
young maiden, his head lay upon her bosom, and 
her gentle hand pressed a cool bandage to his 
burning forehead. A venerable old man, whose 
white locks presented a strange contrast to the 
dark and matted hair of the dying soldier, read in 
a low voice from a book before him ; a strange- 
looking woman, with glittering eyes and the dark 
complexion of the daughters of the south, held a 
light, which she shaded with her hand so as to 
temper its brightness to the fading sight. 

“ It is Dunnellan, ,, whispered Baverley ; “ he is 
dying, as I feared. And there is the woman we 
spoke of, unless I am mistaken.” 

“Hush!” whispered his friend; “he is dying, 
6 


82 THE MAID OF STRALSUND. 

indeed. Let us not disturb him. He is in the 
arms of Helena. If we move she must hear us or 
see us.” 

They remained where they were. The low but 
clear voice of the pastor read glorious words of 
comfort and assurance to the departing spirit. A 
muttered “ amen,” a sigh or a sob, was all that was 
heard in the room ; and, as if by special arrange- 
ment, when the last words had gone forth from his 
lips, the solemn strains of an evening hymn, — 
played by the Swedish band on the market-place, — 
floated through the open window into the room. 

At this moment the young nurse lifted her head, 
and her eyes met those of Wyndham fixed upon 
her with such an expression of admiration and sym- 
pathy that she blushed deeply. The two friends 
came to her side and kneeled down. The wounded 
man recognised them, although he was unable to 
speak. His large eyes turned to Wyndham, and 
their silent eloquence moved him to tears : for no 
one who had not been present at the scene in the 
barracks that afternoon could comprehend what 
that look meant. It meant this, — 

“ Although I had received a warning, I heeded 
it not ; in the arrogance of my recovered health I 
provoked the punishment which has now been 


AFTER THE FRA K 83 

dealt me by a higher hand. Oh, if I could but be 
at peace before the sun setteth, and part in anger 
from no man whose soul may follow mine ere it 
rise again to-morrow ! ” 

And behind that look he saw thoughts about 
those by whom the news of his death would be 
received as a heavy blow ; and a little pitying sor- 
row that his youth — his bright youth — should be 
cut off so suddenly ; and a lingering look of affec- 
tion at the fading twilight ; and as many things 
more as might be told — if they could be told — in a 
long, long chapter. 

Wyndham pressed the cold hand, and putting 
his lips to Dunnellan’s ear, he whispered, “ Shall I 
bring him hither ? ” 

Dunnellan gave a faint nod, and a glimmer of 
light came across his face. 

“ There is some sore trouble that presses his 
spirit, I think,” said the pastor, rising. “ I have 
prayed that it might be taken av/ay, and I trust it 
will speedily, for he has not long to live.” 

“ I think I know what it is,” said Wyndham, 
rising too. “ I hope I may be able to relieve him. 
I shall return within the hour.” 

He hastened out of the house of death, and 
through the streets, where the people were relating 


84 THE maid of stralsund. 

and exaggerating the day’s evil, as if it were not 
enough ; and it struck him painfully how little had 
been needed to put him altogether in Dunnellan’s 
position ; for the provocation at the barracks was 
on his lips and the death that struck his comrade 
had passed over him a thousand times, and harmed 
him not. 

Not knowing whereto find young Wechter, — for 
it was he whom Dunnellan wanted to see, — he di- 
rected his steps to the barracks ; but on crossing 
the Town Hall Square, where the magistrates were 
assembled, he ran up against the figure of a man 
leaning against the door of the St. Nicholas Church, 
with arms folded and his head sunk upon his breast. 
Wyndham gently laid his hand on the man’s shoul- 
der : “ I have been seeking you.” 

The youth shook him off roughly, and exclaimed, 
“ Begone ! I shall not seek you until I shall want 
you ! But leave me now, unless you would provoke 
me to raise my hand in unfair slaughter. You 
have done me enough harm this day already.” 

“ Even therefore would I remedy the evil I have 
brought. Dunnellan, with whom you had a differ- 
ence at noon, is dying, and he sorely wishes to see 
you and make peace ere he leaves this world. Oh, 
refuse him not ! ” 


AFTER THE FRA Y. 


85 

“ Refuse him ! Nay, not I ! Go, tell him he has 
my full pardon, and all fair wishes on his journey. 
Know you not that my challenge was not meant for 
him, the sorry dog, but for a foreign cur of even 
meaner breed.” 

“ Come, I am willing to interpret your language 
to-morrow ; but put aside all rankling thoughts to- 
day, and follow me. It is not I that beg, but he 
and your betrothed, and pastor Hermann.” 

“ Ah,” answered the other, with a rude laugh, 
“ no wonder you were there with such pleasant 
company. But go. I have no sympathy with the 
living, and I have none for the dying.” And turn- 
ing round he strode away. 


CHAPTER VIII. 


BITTER FRUITS. 



HE following morning, when Wyndham had 


refreshed himself from the fatigues of the 
previous day, he left his slumbering friend at an 
early hour, and hurried to the quay to inhale the 
cool breath from the sea. It was Sunday, and 
everything was silent in the city. The week had 
ended with carnage, another would begin with 
prayer, but ere that too was gone by, a terrible fate 
was to come over the unconscious town. Some- 
what to his astonishment, the only other person he 
found on the quay was old Wechter, who returned 
his good morning with a gravity which was scarcely 
in keeping with his usual politeness and affability. 
In the opening chapter it was stated that he was 
one of the most respected and best liked of the 
magistrates of Stralsund. His wealth, and the judi- 
cious and benevolent use to which he put it, his 


86 


BITTER FRUITS. 87 

unaffected piety and his unflinching honesty, made 
him the darling of the people ; and even the fact 
that he belonged to the Calvinistic sect seemed an 
advantage, by the bold yet kindly and generous 
manner in which he defended his principles, with- 
out following the general example of heaping an- 
athemas on his opponents. 

It would be strange if with so much prosperity 
there were not in good Herr Wechter’s house a 
skeleton in the cupboard, a thorn in his flesh, the 
pains of which were carefully concealed from the 
gaze of the curious, but felt with increased severity 
in houts of solitude. Hope deferred maketh the 
heart sick ; but hopes shattered and cruelly broken, 
what effect have they upon the heart ? When a 
man occupies a prominent and honorable position, 
which he owes to his own exertions, it is but natural 
that his gaze should travel to that period of his life 
when his name will be borne, when his position will 
be occupied, and when he himself will be reflected, by 
his children. When he is at the same time a Chris- 
tian and a patriot, he will endeavor to imbue them 
with those principles which are the mainstay of his 
happiness, and he will count it a pleasure to relate 
to them passages from a life full of experience which 
he can afford to look back upon with a ‘smile. He 


88 


THE MAID OF STRALSUND . 


will point out to them the dangers that threatened 
him and that seemed so harmless, the little causes 
that had such great consequences, and the ends that 
were commonly considered to be so important, but 
that repaid the laborer so very scantily ; and even 
when his life has been one of such hardships and 
trials and suffering that its recollection can scarcely 
fail to bring back with it part of the pain that was 
felt at the time, even then he does not grudge having 
to draw upon his memory for a topic so unpleasant 
when he sees that the lessons it teaches make a deep 
impression upon the mind of those whom he desires 
to teach. 

Herr Wechter could not have been accused of 
building castles in the air, if he had hoped that the 
only son which remained of all his children would 
to some extent occupy such a place, would with 
eagerness listen to such counsels, and would prefer 
his father’s experience to his own. But he was dis- 
appointed. Long before Theodore had ceased to be 
a child in years, he had ceased to be a child in affec- 
tion and obedience. Many years before he had 
arrived at the age of discretion, he presumed to 
decide between right and wrong ; and what pained 
his father most of all was this, that he could detect 
in his son’s decisions and arguments, that he was 


BITTER FRUITS. 89 

actuated, not by some precocious spirit of scrutiny, 
or some extraordinary genius for criticism, but by a 
sullen, dogged, and unholy spirit of opposition, which 
caused him to receive his fathers lessons and his 
mothers gentle persuasions with ungrateful and un- 
childlike suspicion. 

It is easy for those who have not witnessed the 
disease to talk of a remedy ; and many are prepared 
to show that mercy, or the rod, or love, or sternness, 
or all of these, are the infallible antidotes to the 
poison. But rare, it might almost be said unknown, 
is the wisdom that can treat a case so difficult, so 
heartbreaking, and so unpromising. Herr Wechter 
may possibly have possessed that wisdom, but it is to 
be feared that the complaint of his child was incura- 
ble ; for when he had watched him with ceaseless 
anxiety from year to year until he became a man, 
and when the time had arrived that he possessed 
some right to that tone which he had so long assumed, 
there was scarcely anything in religion, in politics, 
or even in business matters, which they had in 
common. His gloomy and distrustful temper was 
directly opposed to his fathers cheerful and benev- 
olent nature. 

It was therefore with no great astonishment, 
though with undiminished pain, that Herr Wechter 


THE MAID OF STRALSUND. 


90 

saw his son display but little interest and no enthu- 
siasm in the great struggle with which, at the begin- 
ning of 1628, the city was threatened. Neither 
phase of the Reformed religion interested him in the 
least. His political opinions, as far as in those days 
they could be separated from religious opinions, were 
undecided. Had he been born in Vienna or Paris, 
and had his father been a chamberlain of the Em- 
peror or King, his spirit of opposition would have 
led him to prefer a commonwealth such as that of 
Stralsund. But now that Herr Wechter was one of 
the chief magistrates of that commonwealth, he 
suspected, and suspected rightly, that Theodore’s 
sympathies must of necessity lie in another direction. 
Since the Danes had entered the town, however, he 
became fixed, and to some extent outspoken. He 
openly sided with them in all disputes, warmly 
defended the suspected colonel, and advocated the 
plan of placing the town unconditionally in the 
hands of King Christian. For some time Herr 
Wechter had doubts whether any inducement had 
caused his son to advocate such a plan ; for the 
idea of going contrary to his father’s opinions and 
the general sentiments seemed a sufficient bait to 
tempt him. 

Within the last few days, however, certain things 


BITTER FRUITS. 91 

had convinced him that his son had added disloyalty 
to the catalogue of his sins, and that he was one of 
those of the burgher-guard who had accepted the 
offer of Danish promotion. A greater blow it 
would scarcely have been possible to give to Herr 
Wechter. It was no longer in his power to hide 
his grief under the usual smile ; and when Captain 
Wyndham approached him, he received a curt 
answer instead of the usual pleasant greeting. 

“ I would be vexed,” said Wyndham, “ if I could 
ascribe the cause of your coldness to my demeanor. 
If it be so, I pray you let me hear it, so that I may 
ask your pardon.” 

The burgher-captain looked at the speaker’s 
honest face, and finding that it expressed sympathy 
and grief, became involuntarily somewhat gentler 
in his tone, as he said, — 

“ There is nothing I know of, sir captain, that 
could have turned my mind against you. Believe 
me, I honor and respect you as much as ever. But 
see, the sun has risen hours ago, and I should be 
home.” 

And with this he turned towards the city. But 
Wyndham laid a gentle hand upon his arm. 

“ Stay, Herr Wechter. You have some sorrow. 
Is it anything in which I can help, or in which my 


9 2 


THE MAID OF STEALS UND. 


sympathy would be of avail ? I hope your son 
Theodore is not wounded, for I like him, — I like 
him indeed.’’ 

The drowning man clutched at the straw. Was 
it possible that this foreigner, the only man whom 
he had ever heard express a liking for his son, might 
be able to give him some direct proof of his son’s 
innocence? He looked hard at him for some 
moments. 

“ Ay,” he said at last, “ he has been wounded.” 

“ Truly ? In what part ? Was it badly ? I saw 
him yesternight, and he seemed well.” 

“ Ay, it is badly, dangerously,” answered Herr 
Wechter. 

“ And where ? In what part of his body ? Is there 
hope for him ? ” 

“ I am afraid not, Herr Captain ; although I 
am overjoyed to find you with such feeling for my 
son.” 

“ Oh, I am grieved to hear this ! ” cried Wynd- 
ham, in accents of genuine sorrow ; “ the more be- 
cause, unwittingly, I must have pained him yester- 
day. Lord Hamilton had a chart of the city and 
of the enemy’s works, and I condemned it, and told 
him it was badly done ; and I knew not it was your 
son’s until afterwards. But I am truly sorry.” 


BITTER FRUITS , . 


93 

“ Nay, good Herr Wyndham, listen to me. That 
chart I know was drawn by my son, and drawn 
wrongly, because he knows not the art and secret 
of the craft. But I would ask you, on your word 
of a knight, have you not heard some rumors in the 
town about the Danes and their aspirations ? ” 

“ Who has not, Herr Wechter ? But who that 
hears them does not see at once that they are 
absurd ? But about your son ; where is his wound ? ” 

“ I am coming to that ; and now that I would 
continue, I feel as though to stop were best, for 
methinks I can hear in the tone of your voice, and 
see in the dim expression of your face, that you 
suspect my question and know its answer.” 

Wyndham looked down upon the quay, and said 
not a word. 

“ Then tell me,” asked the other, almost fiercely, 
grasping his arm and shaking it slightly, “ do you 
know it for a truth that my son is a traitor ? ” 

“ Nay, I know nothing, nor will I be convinced 
that he is. That were too foul a crime for one who 
bears your name.” 

“ Ah ! ” said the burgher, bitterly, “ the crime is 
no such great stranger when the thought is a friend > 
and what thought has been too foul for him not to 
be taken into his brain and hugged and brooded 


i 


THE MAID OF STRALSUND . 


94 

over till it reached its fullest maturity of wicked- 
ness ? Oh that he had died, like the rest, when he 
was young ! for surely it is better to miss them all 
here than to miss one hereafter. But, say you 
truly, have you heard nothing ? ” 

“ I have heard that he favors the Danes, and 
would have entered their ranks but for the magis- 
trates’ forbiddance. But that is no great crime.” 

“ Young man,” said Wechter, solemnly, “ It is no 
great crime ; but know you not that a feather may 
turn the balance ? Had he been true in other 
things, he had not failed greatly in this. But he 
has crossed me in all things ; he has done as much 
to disgrace my name as I and my ancestors have 
done to raise it. When I was his age I was the 
bosom friend of Oxenstierna at Jena. And now, 
when I have been twice elected burgomaster,- — 
mind you, twice ! and that happens but to few, — 
he would betray the town to the Danes. Oh ! I 
heard it yesterday, not long before the cannonade 
began, and I called him to me. He would not 
deny it, and I was stern with him, — oh, I was 
stern ! ” 

“ And you did wrong to be so stern, — for he 
himself is such ; and when did steel, when it met 
steel, ever produce aught but sparks ? You should 


BITTER FRUITS. 


95 

have taken him to your heart, and chid him like a 
father ; that might have touched him/’ 

“ I know it would not, Herr Captain,” answered 
the burgher, his face assuming a sad expression ; 
“ I felt my anger roused at the sight of him, and I 
have no longer faith in soft words.” 

“ And yet,” said Wyndham, “ I earnestly believe 
that neither you nor any other living being has as 
much influence over him as the sweet angel to whom 
he is betrothed. She is all gentleness and she rules 
him.” 

“ Ay, but I am fraid he will lose her too,” said 
the father ; “ for his wiles and humors are at times 
past angels’ patience. But do you speak to him. 
You say you like him ; you can better bend your 
mind to gentle persuasion than I can. And now 
let me begone, for there is service in Pastor Her- 
mann’s church, and I would hear him this morning. 
God give you good day.” 

Wyndham looked after the departing magistrate 
with very mingled feelings. Such genuine sorrow, 
such deep affliction at his son’s perversion, such 
honesty and simpleness of mind, and withal, such 
petty pride and vanity ! 


CHAPTER IX. 


A STRANGE VISIT 



WEEK went by ; Wyndham tried earnestly 


^ ^ to fulfil his promise to Herr Wechter ; but 
as it had been given without much hope, he was 
not greatly astonished at the failure. The moment 
he endeavored to enter into any kind of confidential 
and friendly intercourse with Theodore, he was 
repulsed with haughtiness. But when he threw 
out a delicate hint to warn him against his alliance 
with the Danes, it was as if he had applied a match 
to some explosive substance. The young burgher’s 
wrath was terrible. He was aware, he said, from 
what quarter this admonition came ; and he was 
astonished that his father had not sent one of his 
apprentices to do the business, as they would cer- 
tainly have done it less clumsily. He even went 
so far as to ask Wyndham how much he was paid 
for his service. Being thus repulsed, Wyndham 


A STRANGE VISIT. 


97 

resolved not to try again, and had as little intercourse 
with Theodore as he could ; the more as he saw 
plainly that it was the latter’s intention, in some 
way or other, to force him to a duel. 

He so regulated his sojourn at the pastor’s house, 
therefore, that there should be no ground for the 
most jealous lover to suspect that his attentions 
were directed to Helena. It cost him a hard strug- 
gle to miss her beautiful face, nor hear her silvery 
voice as it consoled the patients under her care ; 
but he knew that he must do it in justice to him- 
self as well as to her betrothed. In spite of this 
avoidance, however, Theodore’s demeanor became 
more gloomy and insolent than ever. To Helena 
he behaved with a coldness and nonchalance that 
cut her to the heart. To her amiable father, 
with a contempt for all that was sacred and re- 
vered by the old man, that made Baverley’s blood 
boil in his veins ; and had it not been for his friend’s 
positive instructions and earnest entreaties they 
would have quarrelled. And, yet, through his cold- 
ness to Helena there sometimes shot a flame of love, 
of admiration, so intense, so rapturous, that it moved 
her generous heart with tender pity, and made her 
love this dark and rebellious spirit as angels may be 

said to love and weep over the fallen. She knew 
7 


98 THE maid of stralsund. 

that she alone could save him from total misery. 
For to be loved by no one amongst men is indeed 
as miserable a condition as humanity can come to. 

The behavior of Helena’s father all this sad 
while was truly touching. With a delicacy and 
forbearance that no one would have suspected in 
him who saw him in one of his violent fits of anger 
against the assailants of his doctrines, he strove to 
influence the youth’s mind. By quaint stories 
sparkling with kindly humor and rich teaching, by 
kind arguments, by generous forgetfulness of what 
was due to his white hairs, he labored to bend 
this tree. But it was of no avail. Theodore lis- 
tened but heard not, and went away unrelenting. 

Helena in the meanwhile was busily engaged in 
her work of charity in the hospital. Dunnellan, 
although without hope, was still alive. His wound, 
which the science of those days was utterly unable 
to deal with, was fatal ; but his life, that might 
have fled the moment he had received the wound, 
lingered from day to day. What gentle care, what 
tender nursing could do to alleviate his pain, his 
patient and beautiful nurse did ; and it was only at 
his bedside that Wyndham had an opportunity of 
speaking to her or of hearing her voice. 

One day, when he rose from the bedside of the 


A STRANGE VISIT. 


99 

unconscious soldier to visit Lord Hamilton, she 
approached him in a confused and hesitating man- 
ner. It seemed, indeed, as if she were on the point 
of making some request, when suddenly the gypsy 
woman entered and cast at her a glance of re- 
proach. The young soldier fancied that her slight 
frame trembled ; but when he asked whether he 
could be of any service, she paused and said, sud- 
denly, “ No, Herr Captain, except you could tell me 
the watchword to-night at the Vehr-Gate, for Dun- 
nellan woke up last night and asked for you in a 
faint voice. I sent to our house, but you were 
absent on night duty, and ere we could have had 
you here he was once more unconscious ; so if we 
knew the watchword, we might send at once, and 
you might be here in time.” 

To say that Wyndham did not believe this would 
be saying too much, for he gave her what she re- 
quired, and having respectfully kissed her hand, 
departed. But there was that in her air, her look, 
and in the whole tenor of her speech, that seemed 
to him at variance with her usual self. He found 
a ready explanation in the manner in which she was 
circumstanced; and when he thought of the things 
she had to bear and yet so young, he pitied her, 
and loved her more than ever. 


100 


THE MAW OF STRALSUND . 


On the morning after Helena had made him the 
request at the bedside of his wounded comrade, 
Wyndham sat in the guard-house wondering wheth- 
er Dunnellan had woke up and called for him. 
There was just the faintest possible glimmer in the 
east that heralded the coming day, but the lanterns 
and torches in the guard-house were still blazing. 
He had made the usual round of inspection, and 
found everything quiet, and he had stretched him- 
self on the wooden form to snatch a few moments’ 
sleep, when the sentry’s challenge of “ Wer da ? ” 
brought him quickly to his feet. He stepped out 
of the guard-house on to the quay, and started, for 
there before him, in the red and yellow glare of a 
torch, and the pale and still uncertain light of the 
dawn, stood the form of Helena. 

When she saw him, her head sank on her bosom ; 
and there was a painful shrinking and hesitation in 
her demeanor that showed how fully aware she was 
of the strangeness of her act. Wyndham had not a 
word to utter. The light played on his cuirass and 
his own bronzed features not more fitfully than 
did conjectures and wonderments as to the cause 
of this visit fly across his brain. 

I am afraid, Herr Captain, that you are some- 
what astonished at my appearance ? ” said Helena, 


A STRANGE VISIT. 


IOI 


who had now recovered her self-composure, and 
spoke with a firm voice ; “ and, soothly, I myself 
would wonder were it not that I had good reason 
for my mission.” 

“ Indeed,” answered Harry, “ I confess that 
your sudden appearance somewhat startled me ; 
but I do hope the reason of your coming is not a 
sad one, for I could bear to see you in another 
capacity than that of the bringer of ill-tidings. 
But I pray you be seated. ” 

“ Nay, Herr Wyndham,” answered Helena ; and 
this time her voice trembled, notwithstanding her 
effort to control it. “ I thank you for your attention, 
but I cannot accept it. I only came hither to tell 
you that your friend is no more. He died not more 
than half an hour ago. ” 

. Wyndham got more and more puzzled. That she 
should come herself in the very last extremity, and 
pray him come and see his friend in his last hour, he 
could have understood. But that she should 'come, 
and come alone, to tell him that his friend was dead, 
puzzled him extremely. He would have ascribed it 
to her love for him had he dared, or had he not 
known her high-minded modesty so well. He step- 
ped out of the door, and seizing her hand, he said 
in a low voice, “ Helena, dearest Helena, forgive me ; 


io2 the maid of stralsund. 

but was this well ? What moved you to commit 
so great an indiscretion ? Go home, and forgive 
me for having spoken so harshly to you.” 

As he spoke he felt her hand tremble, and turn 
hot and cold. It seemed as if the sound of his low 
and earnest voice was more than she could bear ; 
for she drooped, and had he not supported her slen- 
der frame, she must have fallen. She had covered 
her face with both hands, and for some moments 
she lay within his arms motionless. What strange 
variety of thought and emotion went through the 
honest captain’s heart at this moment ! By a 
sudden effort Helena regained her self-possession. 
She did not raise her eyes to those of her compan- 
ion, but she gave him her hand saying, “ Farewell, 
Herr Captain. You have not offended, though you 
have misunderstood me. I cannot now tell you 
what induced me to come to you, but some day I 
will explain it, and you will not blame me. I hope 
that day will not be far off. Farewell ! ” 

A sweet though sad smile accompanied these 
words, and showed the young officer, through 
all his doubts and wonderings, that she did not 
blame herself for this act. 

“ O Helena ! ” he exclaimed, “ I beseech you — ” 

“Hush, hush!” she said, hurriedly and with a 


A STRANGE VISIT 


103 


look of pain ; “ there is some one coming. I must 
go ; I dare not be seen ! ” 

She hurried towards the nearest gate that led 
from the quay to the city. Wyndham made one or 
two steps as if he would follow her ; but returning 
quickly, called his servant Roger, and directed him 
to follow the maid and see her safely home. 

Scarcely had Roger followed the dim figure, 
when another approached the guard-house from the 
opposite side, and curtly answered the sentry’s 
challenge. It needed no second listening to tell 
Wyndham that he heard Theodore’s voice, the man 
of all others he could not allow to pass. He must 
stop him at any cost. 

“ What brings you here, at this unseemly hour, sir 
lieutenant ? Any orders ? ” 

“ None,” was the curt reply ; and Theodore at- 
tempted to pass him. 

“ Softly, sir,” said Wyndham, stepping in front 
of him ; “ what is your errand ? ” 

" Let me by,” said the youth in a tone of furious- 
ly pent-up passion. “ Let me by, or as I live — ” 
he did not finish his sentence, but brought his hand 
to the hilt of his sword. 

“ Stay,” answered Wyndham, calmly. “ By right, 
at that gesture I should bring out the guard and 


104 


THE MAID OF STRALSUND . 


arrest you ; and I promise you I shall do it if you 
make that motion again. I am the officer of the 
guard, arid I desire your business at this hour of the 
morning. 

“ My business ? ” said Theodore, with a short laugh. 
“ I have come too late to witness a touching inter- 
view. Tell me, captain, who is the lady I saw on 
this very spot a moment since ? Have I any knowl- 
edge of her ? ” 

Wyndham was silent. He would gladly have 
given any name, but he was no adept at telling 
falsehoods ; and he felt that falsehoods would be 
thrown away in this case. By this time, however, 
he heard the clang of the gate as it admitted 
Helena in the town, and he breathed more freely. 

“ Come,” he said, after a moment's pause, “ this 
is too absurd. Your dislike for me has driven you 
to the verge of madness. Why will you hate 
me?” 

“ Why will you come between me and my hopes, 
my ambitions, my everything ? ” answered the 
youth ; and in the dawn his face almost terrified 
Wyndham with its wildness. “ Did you not tell my 
father that I was in alliance with the Danes ? Did 
you not tell Hoik that I had endeavored to create a 
disturbance in the barracks ? Did you not condemn 


A STRANGE VISIT. 


I0 5 

my chart of the town ? Did you not with all your 
arts endeavor to alienate from me the only being 
that cares for me ? ” 

Although he saw his opponent’s steel glisten, 
Wyndham drew not. “Nay,” he said, “ I must not 
to-night. I cannot. I am on duty.” 

“ That excuse melts before the sun, sir captain, 
for your duty ends with day. You will hear from 
me when you are at leisure. Meanwhile, I follow 
your lady ; I would know her business, since you 
know mine.” 


CHAPTER X. 


BROKEN AT LAST. 

OCARCELY knowing how to meet Helena after 
^ what had happened that morning, Wyndham 
resolved not to go to the house until the hour 
should have come when she usually repaired to the 
hospital, or visited the sick of her father’s congre- 
gation. A certain feeling of delicacy withheld him 
from taking any advantage the occurrence might 
have put in his way. His mind was so thoroughly 
made up as to the rights of Theodore, that he shrank 
from interpreting her visit in the manner most in 
accordance with his inmost feelings, and it seemed to 
him like a faithless breaking of his promise to Herr 
Wechter, not to do everything in his power to mend 
matters between the betrothed. Little did he know 
that at that very hour the breach had been widened 
beyond healing ; and that, partly through circum- 
stances, but mostly through the distrustfulness of 


BROKEN A T LAST. 


107 

his own temper, Theodore was led into an act that 
directly influenced the whole of his life and the 
lives of those with whom our story is connected. 
For what had happened ? 

At the hour when Theodore knew that his be- 
trothed was generally alone, he presented himself 
to her, as may be imagined, in anything but a con- 
ciliatory and amiable spirit. This was no unusual 
thing for him, and for that very reason it had 
always been Helena’s aim to chase the gloomy and 
angry clouds from his mind ; and what with her 
beauty, the fascination of her manner, and the 
sweetness of a temper that would not be ruffled, it 
was seldom that she exercised her arts in vain. 
Such had been her conduct so long as she had noth- 
ing wherewith to reproach herself ; but this morning 
it was different. There was now something to de- 
fend, and there was a consciousness within her that 
she could no longer meet his reproaches and sus- 
picions with a perfect candor. Ah ! she had not 
been able to do that for some time past, but the 
change had never till now been brought so clearly 
before her. Accordingly there was in her demean- 
or and in her look a hauteur, very trifling, and 
easily to be subdued, but not by reproaches. Had 
Theodore understood this, he would have been wise. 


108 THE maid of stralsund. 

The weather was still magnificent. The be- 
siegers kept up a lazy cannonade that was scarcely 
answered by those of the city, except when either 
party, grown too careless by the absence of danger, 
exposed its men too much, in which case a sharp 
exchange of musket-shots would suddenly ring 
through the air. 

Helena had taken up her position in the little 
room that opened into the garden, and there her 
spinning-wheel went busily around, and her nimble 
fingers threaded the flax with such dexterity that 
the eye could scarcely follow them. Presently the 
house-door latch was lifted, and a well-known step 
sounded on the red tiles wherewith the front room 
was paved. The door was pushed open and the 
eyes of Theodore sternly regarded his betrothed. 
She had looked up from her work with a bright 
smile, intending to welcome him as usual ; but the 
expression of his face, and perhaps the contrast it 
offered to the expression she had been conscious 
of calling forth on another face that morning, made 
the smile fade upon her lips, and a silent nod was 
all she vouchsafed her lover. 

“ Did you expect another ? ” asked he, bitterly ; 
i( because methinks the expression of your face tells 
tales.” 


BROKEN A T LAST. 


109 

“ In truth,” answered she, with dignity, “ I did 
expect another welcome this morning.” 

“ Ah,” said he, with a forced laugh, “ a welcome, 
perchance, that would have been more agreeable, 
and that would have been a continuation of the 
tender farewell this morning on the quay ? ” 

The silent look of reproach that Helena threw 
upon him fired his passion still more. He ap- 
proached the spinning-wheel, and seizing it with 
no very gentle hand, arrested its motion. 

“ I have to congratulate both ourselves with the 
accident that brought me thither. Had I but 
known that you entertain such taste for morning 
walks, ’twould have been my pleasure to provide 
you with a safer guide. Hush ! you need not look 
offended at my having stopped your wheel, I know 
he would not have done that ; but — ” 

“ Nay, you say truly ; he would not have done 
it, nor shall I allow you to do it. Pray let me work, 
and remember that you have no right whatever to 
dictate my comings and goings, as you seem to im- 
agine.” 

“ Aha ! ” said Theodore, entirely taken aback by 
so unusual a speech has he converted my little 
dove into a hawk? Listen, Helena! You know 
whose blood this is ? ” 


no 


THE MAID OF STRALSUND . 


And with those .words he pulled his sword out of 
its scabbard, and showed her a deep red stain upon 
the steel. For a moment the maiden looked at the 
murderous and self-convicted weapon without seem- 
ing to understand what she really saw. Then 
turning deadly pale, a cry broke from her lips, and 
she tottered towards the door. Theodore sprang 
forward quickly, and caught her in his arms. But 
as she fell upon the cold steel of his cuirass, it 
seemed as if the touch worked upon her with magic. 
She shuddered, and with one effort loosened her- 
self from his support. There was in her face an 
expression he had never seen before ; there was in 
her blue eyes a certain fierceness that for the mo- 
ment seemed positively to change their color. She 
looked at him fixedly, and pushing the golden hair 
away from her temples, exclaimed, — 

“ You have slain him — he who was innocent, who 
was good, who was so generous ! You have slain 
him for an offence he had not dreamed of commit- 
ting ! Theodore, I might have loved you, and as 
your wedded wife I might have learned to honor 
and obey you. But now, I could not love his 
murderer — no, never! Oh, cruel, cruel ! ” and sob- 
bing, she pressed her face against her trembling 
hands. 


BROKEN A T LAST. 


ill 


Theodore stood before her abashed, humbled and 
terrified by her words. At the same time, she 
looked so exquisitely lovely in her pure sorrow, that 
he sank on one knee before her and endeavored to 
seize her hand, 

“ Forgive me, Helena,” he cried I have gone 
too far. I only meant to show you what might be. 
My jealousy prompted me. Forgive me if I have 
erred, and let it show you that I love you so deeply 
that I cannot bear the thought of your loving an- 
other. Wyndham is alive ; he is not even hurt. 
Ah ! that seems to please you. He goes about as 
yet untouched, and if he lists can rob me of my 
only treasure.” 

“ Enough, sir,” interrupted Helena, looking at 
him coldly, and withdrawing her hand : “you have 
been mean enough to use an artifice, so that you 
might entrap and surprise me. Your conduct now 
has taught me that I can never entertain for you 
that respect without which I should think it wrong 
to take you as my husband.” 

She turned from him coldly, and ere he could 
rush to the door she had left the room and had 
disappeared. 


CHAPTER XI. 


BEYOND HEALING. 

T T 7 HEN the man who anticipates an easy con- 
v v quest is suddenly and totally defeated, the 
severity of his disaster will be in proportion to his 
own self-confidence. 

Helena’s generous and yielding spirit had made 
Theodore so unaccustomed to opposition, that for 
some moments after she had left the room he 
actually felt as though he had driven her from him, 
and by compelling her to confess that she favored 
the Scot, had renounced her for ever. A curious 
coincidence ended this self-deception. 

As he stood in the middle of the room, a sound 
as of some one talking vehemently reached his ear. 
The next moment the door opened, and Pastor 
Hermann stood on the threshold. His features 
wore a strange expression. The mouth that was 
usually parted with a humorous and pleasant smile 
was now firmly set and severe ; the eyes flamed 


BEYOND HEALING . 


*13 

with an angry fire ; the whole figure, somewhat bent 
with age, was now erect and bold, and the head 
was thrown back with defiance. As soon as his 
eyes rested upon the youth, he advanced towards 
him with a firm step, saying, — 

“ And thou ! thou art another of those who 
associate with the shameful betrayers of the Lord 
and His cause. I ask thee, how canst thou justify 
thy behavior? In what respect is the Lutheran 
consubstantiation better than the Popish transub- 
stantiation ? Are they not both a cursed idolatry ? 
Turn up the Bible from the first page to the last, 
and thou mayest have my head if thou canst find 
one word of such a doctrine in the holy book. Do 
they not twist the truth so that it becometh a lie ? 
And wouldst thou put up with such children of 
Belial ? I understand not how thou, a reformed 
Christian — ” 

“ I ? ” asked the astonished young burgher, at 
once puzzled and irritated by this sudden theologi- 
cal outburst of the excited pastor. “ I know not — ” 
“ Yea, there lies the rub,” continued the Cal- 
vinist, in the same flood of words, which admitted 
of no interruption. “ Thou shouldst know at least 
that Lutheranism is worse than Popery, inasmuch 

as there is some sense, however small, in the Popish 
8 


THE MAID OF STEALS UND. 


114 

doctrines of confession and absolution. It be- 
hooves — ” 

“ Nay, but, good pastor,” said Theodore sternly, 
“ I understand not — ” 

“ How canst thou, who art foolish in thine own 
conceit ? Nay, try me not with argument. I will 
shatter thy reason to the four corners of the earth : 
for thou hast eyes and thou seest not, neither, 
having ears, dost thou understand ; and ere I can 
adopt thee as my son — ” 

He suddenly paused in his sentence while ob- 
serving the pallor that overspread the youth’s face. 
For the moment, the late interview and its result 
had vanished from Theodore’s brain, but these 
words suddenly brought it before him in all its in- 
tensity. 

“ I think there need be little fear of that,” said 
he bitterly, and with a wretched smile ; “ where 
father and daughter are both so intent upon break- 
ing the chain that ties us, it should be stronger 
then it is, were it to stand the strain.” 

The pastor looked at him as one awaking out of 
a dream, and said slowly. “ How now ; what ails 
thee, lad ? What was this about my daughter, and 
a chain that binds her? You look pale and sad- 
dened, surely nothing serious has befallen her ? ” 


BEYOND HEALING. 


1 I S 

Theodore retained a sullen silence, for he 
thought the pastor was mocking him, whereas that 
good man, having but recently issued out of a pitch- 
ed battle with some of his most determined oppo- 
nents, and but dimly perceiving his change of au- 
dience, could not interpret an answer which he had 
not clearly understood. 

“ Pardon me, my son,” he continued, in his 
usual affectionate tone. “ I meant not to upbraid 
thee. But the spirit within me is like a roused lion 
when I encounter these foolish and strong-headed 
men — ” 

“ And, like the lion, you care not whom you at- 
tack, Herr Pastor.” 

“ Truly. I have put my trust in the Lord, arid I 
have not the fear of man,” answered he, with a 
momentary flash in his eye. “ I was but now hold- 
ing forth to our syndic, and I have overcome him, 
although he would not submit. I am grieved that 
my arguments should have wounded you , but truth 
is a sharp and two-edged sword — ” 

“ Nay, Herr Pastor, it was not your arguments 
that wounded me ? but you will please remember 
that you refused to accept me any longer as a son. 
I forego that honor, since it is an honor no longer.” 

“ As how ? These be strong words from your lips.” 


! ! 6 THE MAID OF STRALSUND. 

“Ask your daughter, and if she gives you no 
answer, I have none.” 

“ My daughter ? ” 

The old man said these two words with such 
grand dignity and perfect astonishment that Theo- 
dore looked somewhat abashed. But at this mo- 
ment his eyes beheld something behind the pastor 
that clouded his brow again and compressed his 
lips — it was the face of his own father. 

“ Well, sirrah,” said the latter, “ what should we 
ask of sweet Helena ? Is the charge so grave that 
you cannot utter it ? ” 

“No, sir,” answered the son sulkily; “but I 
care not to accuse her before so partial a tribunal. 
Why, sir, it wants but little knowledge to read in 
your face that you are, as usual, against me.” 

“ And, my son,” said the pastor, in a fatherly yet 
earnest tone, “ I think in this case you are right. 
Come, I believe I know the substance of your 
charge. Was it not about this morning ? ” 

“ I care not to deny it.” 

“ And had you known the matter as I know it, 
you would have loved her more for her very indis- 
cretion. You saw her on the quay ? ” 

“ Ay, I did so. But what matters ? I have 
neither a right nor wish to know anything now/ 


BEYOND HEALING. 


117 

“ Listen. She was there to favor the flight of 
some poor gypsy woman who yearns for her chil- 
dren afar off. She told me all this morning, and I 
rebuked her, but I loved her for it.” 

“ And yet, sir, if she were as innocent as you 
would have her be, how comes she to be in conver- 
sation with Captain Wyndham at so unseemly an 
hour ? And how does she refuse me that explana- 
tion in which she can make you believe so easily ? 
But I thank you, sir ? I thank you greatly. I do 
not feel that admiration for an act of treason which 
you seem to have. But where I can no longer 
love, I can at least punish.” 

“ And whom would you punish ? ” asked his 
father. 

“With whom the guilt lies,” answered his son, 
curtly. 

“ Captain Wyndham ? For surely he alone can 
break the law who knows it.” 

“ And he alone shall feel the law who broke it,” 
answered the other with compressed lips. 

“ Fie, Theodore ! Would you have the law down 
on your rival for doing a godly act of mercy ; and 
that because he acted on the noble inspiration of 
her who needs must fly to others when she sees 
you unwilling to help and assist her ? ” 


n8 THE MAID OF STRALSUND. 

“ Call him not my rival/’ interrupted the youth, 
who had grown even paler than before ; “ he is that 
no longer.” 

“ What is he, then ?” asked the pastor, who had 
eyed Theodore with pity. 

“ He is what I was, or would be.” 

“ He loves her, you mean ? But do not you ? 
Come, Theodore, let me call her down, and end 
this most unhappy interview.” 

“ Nay, Herr Pastor, call her not. I would not 
have her now, for I know now that she loves me 
not ; and — and — ” 

Hard though his face looked, and fierce, if he 
had uttered another word he must have broken out 
into tears. 

“ My son, I knew this would come ! ” said the 
father. “ When we betrothed ye to each other as 
children we prayed to God that He might lead 
your hearts to love Him and each other. But you 
have chosen to forsake Him first, and her now. 
I have seen your jealousy of the Scot increase day 
by day, and I have watched how fierce and deadly 
is your hatred. You are my son, and I am bound 
to love you. But though I love you, I thank God 
that you shall not marry that sweet maid whom I 
love as my daughter, for assuredly you would have 


BEYOND HEALING . 


119 

spoiled her life. Go ! Repent of your folly, and 
think not that you can punish Wyndham so easily. 
For while you were a-bed the Colonel Rosladin 
arrived, — he and his valiant friend Duval, — and 
he is now commander of the city. Your be- 
, loved Hoik has no more power than yourself ; and 
ere you charge the Scot with treason, examine 
yourself and see that you are not to blame.” 

The latter part of these words was said as Theo- 
dore left the room with a haughty step and incredu- 
lous smile on his lips. 

The pastor looked after him with pitying eye, 
and turning to old Wechter, he said : u I fear my 
friend, thou are -too hard with him.” 

“ Iron is sharpened by iron,” answered the 
burgher. 

“ But sharp iron is blunted by it.” 

Theodore strode out of the house, feeling more 
lonely and at war with all the world than if he had 
been a solitary knight amongst innumerable armies 
of Saracens. He was fully resolved now to force a 
duel upon the unwilling Scot, in which it would be 
impossible for one at least to escape. But he was 
foiled even in that. While walking towards the 
barracks, where he would have found Wyndham, 
he met a fellow-officer of the burgher guards who 


120 


THE MAID OF STRALSUND. 


confirmed what he had not before believed, that 
Rosladin had that morning arrived. He told him 
also that in consequence the watches had been 
altered, and that they must assemble on the Town- 
hall Square within a quarter of an hour. 

Scarcely had Theodore time to hurry on his 
armor, when the bugle called him to duty. And 
in the evening, as he walked through the town, 
tired with passion and his work, an ugly whisper 
went from ear to ear, and people looked at each 
other in silence, for they dared not tell each other 
what they feared ; but the whisper was this,— 
“ Wallenstein has come ! ” 


CHAPTER XII. 


THE STORMING OF STRALSUND. 

"VT'ES, Wallenstein had come. The stir and 
A bustle in the Imperial camp was caused by the 
arrival of the great general with the whole of his 
army and fifty heavy guns. No sooner had he re- 
ceived and dismissed the deputation at Frankfort, 
than he followed almost at its heels to enforce 
his answer. 

Wyndham was at his usual post at the Franken 
Gate on that night. The weather was magnificent. 
The stars shone out with the brilliancy of gems in a 
robe of sable velvet. Not a breath stirred the leaves, 
and the mass of water that came lapping and oozing 
around the jetties and boats was as smooth as the 
surface of a lake. The heat and silence alike were 
oppressive. To our captain they were more ; they 
were almost maddening. A peculiar sensation, 
which he never before experienced, seemed to in- 


122 


THE MAID OF STRALSUND . 


spire him with a sort of physical fear. The knowl- 
edge that danger, perhaps death, was certain to 
come within twenty-four hours, made the absolute 
peace of the surroundings doubly painful. He 
could not rest to be in the company of the junior 
officers in the guard-house, who were eagerly dis- 
cussing the probable current of events. His whole 
body was so sensitive that the least touch sent a thrill 
of pain through him. He rose and stepped out 
upon the quay, but the monotony of the sentry’s 
step irritated him. He longed to fly where nothing 
could disturb him, — where even the hopes and fears 
that now divided his heart would be silenced, and 
where the incessant chasing of one wild thought 
after another might cease for one moment to op- 
press his soul with gloom or to elevate it with 
ecstasy of delight. He turned towards the Holy- 
Ghost bastion, where there was the smallest chance 
of his being disturbed, wishing for nothing so much 
as to be alone with his thoughts. He had not 
taken many steps on the covered way that led to 
the bastion, when he was stopped by the slight 
figure of a man whose features in the uncertain 
light it was impossible to recognize. 

“ Captain Wyndham, if I am not amiss ? ” said . 
an authoritative voice in Swedish. 


THE STORMING OF STRALSUND . 


123 


“ Colonel Rosladin ! ” exclaimed Wyndham joy- 
ously. “ What is your pleasure ? ” 

“To shake you by the hand, sir. I have been 
informed of your doings, and I am glad to have a 
word apart with you. Let us to the guard-house.” 

A few steps brought them to the guard-house, 
and into the room where about a dozen officers 
were congregated, refreshing themselves with wine. 
The appearance of the close-knit, hard-grained, 
weather-beaten little man, whose dark eyes regarded 
them with such authority, caused them to rise in 
silence. 

“ I would advise such of the officers as are not 
on duty to retire and betake themselves to rest for 
awhile ; they will need all they can get,” said Ros- 
ladin. “ And those who are on duty will go to 
their respective posts.” 

“And now,” said the new commander, when they 
were alone, “ what of the town ? Know you the 
number of inhabitants, and the garrison that we 
can depend on in the event of a storm ? ” 

“ The inhabitants number eighteen thousand,” 
answered Wyndham ; “and in urgent case of need, I 
think we might reckon on eight thousand men capa- 
ble of defence, including the three thousand Danes 
and Swedes. I feel as if the urgency is not far off.” 


124 


THE MAID OF STRALSUND. 


“ Ay, captain, I shall not be surprised if Fried- 
land storms to-morrow at all the three gates. He 
has not come for nothing.” 

The assurance was almost a pleasure to Wynd- 
ham. There was now, at any rate, a probable end 
to his feverish suspense and the strange anxiety 
that oppressed him. 

“ And I am told there is great scarcity in the 
city,” said the colonel. “ If it be so, and if no help 
or provision can come to us, it is sc'arce worth our 
while to fight.” 

“ I know not that our provisions are scarce as 
yet,” answered Wyndham ; " but I fear they will 
become so, for even your ships brought us but lit- 
tle, if you consider the hungry mouths it has to 
feed.” 

“ And for that little you have to thank Banner, 
to whom your possible want occurred at the last 
moment, or rather General Leslie, who sent a special 
message to Banner to remind him.” 

“ I confess I am somewhat surprised,” said Wynd- 
ham, “ that the King has not sent a larger force. 
Methought, now that his war with Poland is over, 
and he knoweth the sore stress of this town, he 
might have sent us greater help.” 

“ So thought I, Herr Captain,” answered Ros- 


THE STORMING OF STRALSUND. 


I2 5 

ladin ; “ but it almost seems to me as if the King 
were in dubious mind about sustaining this siege ; 
his counsels being at war ’twixt open rupture which 
must follow, and the abandonment of such an under- 
taking.” 

“ But now that we are here, let us keep it for 
him,” said Wyndham ; “ and I beseech you, Col- 
onel, order me to double the guards at the gates, for 
I feel as though, even at this hour, they are prepar- 
ing a bloody onslaught. There’s that within me 
that tells me there is danger near ; and my soul, 
like the sea-gull at the approach of a storm, flutters 
and trembles within me.” 

“ Come, let us visit the works ; and, as we go, 
tell me the whole tale of that curious dispute be- 
tween the Danish and Swedish soldiers. They say 
that Colonel Hoik intended treason ; but I do not 
believe it, for he resigned the command to me with 
such fair and honorable mien, that were this true he 
must be a sad hypocrite. Come, the night is fine, 
and let us hope it is the herald of a finer day.” 

Towards the morning, when the light of the stars 
began to fade, and by degrees the different objects 
started into sight in the grey dawn, it became 
unmistakably evident that, the Imperials were 
making preparations of some sort. The sound of 




126 


THE MAID OF STRALSUND. 


their drums and trumpets was distinctly heard at 
the gate, and Wyndham immediately despatched an 
orderly for reinforcements. The message had 
scarcely been delivered to Rosladin, when another 
arrived from the Knipes Gate and another from 
the Tribsee Gate, requesting help in all haste. For 
some moments the officers — Rosladin, Duval, Hoik, 
and Hamilton — had a consultation together, then 
the last three hurried away in different directions. 
In a few moments the whole city was up and doing. 
.Not many eyes had been closed *that night in heavy 
sleep, and many a bed had been unoccupied ; for 
the whisper, “ Wallenstein has come ! ” had been 
repeated at every door, and had driven slumber 
away. At the first notes of the bugle, every door 
opened as if by magic, and burghers and musketeers 
ran out into the cool morning air. They passed 
each other with a cordial salute ; all differences 
were now forgotten, all petty jealousy and strife 
swept away before the approaching shadow of the 
dark wings of the angel of death. 

The engagement commenced at the Knipes Gate, 
where Rosladin himself commanded, shrewdly 
guessing that here Wallenstein would be present 
in person. The outworks of both the Knipes and 
Franken Gates had been seriously damaged by the 


THE STORMING OF STRALSUND. 


127 

Imperial fire. Large breaches had been made in 
the walls ; the cannon were disabled. The guns 
of the enemy, posted during the night, completely 
swept part of the approach from the gates to the 
outer bastions ; the outer bastions themselves were 
almost like an open battle-field, to be defended by 
dogged courage, and by that alone. 

With a ringing cheer the Imperial musketeers 
advanced towards the breach. They were greeted 
with a volley from the burgher guard, to whom the 
honor of defending their own walls had been given. 
But the waves of the advancing tide are no more 
indifferent to the faint summer breeze than were 
these veterans to that volley. On they came in an 
irregular line, eager faces crushing in between 
glistening swords and helmets. A second volley 
seemed to give them a new impulse. There is 
blood, there is plunder to be had. On, ye men of 
Friedland ! See ! the burghers waver ! they re- 
treat ! they are in disorder! they fly! Hurrah! 
the bastion is yours ! 

Then the close-knit little figure of Rosladin 
pointed with his sword to the mass of retreating 
burghers ; and turning to the Danes and Swedes 
behind him, commanded — Forward ! It was mur- 
derous, that meeting of two tried bodies of soldiers ; 


128 the maid of stralsund. 

but it was short. The Imperials, after a few min- 
utes' desperate conflict, fled as fast as they could. 
Their dead and wounded were thrown aside ; a 
fresh force sent forward ; a moment’s breathing 
time allowed; and on came another regiment, as 
wild, nay, wilder, than the first. Six times the 
bastion was taken ; six times it was recovered. The 
sea-water in the fosse was dyed red with blood. 
Heaps of mangled corpses lay everywhere, blocking 
up the very breach, their distorted faces staring up 
at heaven with dreadful glassy eyes. The Duke 
himself looked at the scene from afar with folded 
arms and stern unmovable face. 

When for the sixth time the attack was repulsed, 
he countermanded the storm and went to break- 
fast. What were a thousand lives to him ? 

At the Tribsee Gate scarcely anything had been 
done. At the Franken Gate the same success had 
attended those of the city ; but our story here has 
to record deails*t The command of the defence 
had been given to Hoik. It was carried on with 
the same intrepidity, but somehow the garrison 
had grown disheartened by the report that the 
enemy was already in the city, and would soon 
attack them in the rear. They flagged. A mad 
rush was made by Arnheim’s dragoons. Presently 


THE STORMING OF STRALSUND. 


129 


a cry broke from those who had been engaged in 
the last attack, and who had been, for a time with- 
drawn. Arnheim’s colors waved on the bastion. 
Wyndham looked round with a strange tremor. 

“ It is all over with us, Harry,” whispered 
Baverley, behind him, “ unless we be mettlesome. 
These burghers know not how to keep ground.” 

“ Captain Wyndham, forward!” cried an adju- 
tant from Hoik. With delight the Scots rushed 
after their captain. Even in that terrible moment 
some raillery passed between them and the rear 
ranks of the burghers. 

In the foremost rank, fighting against fearful 
odds with a fierceness that astonished Arnheim’s 
veterans, was a young officer of the burgher guard. 
Already wounded in several places, his clenched 
teeth betrayed his determination to die rather than 
yield. Forced by the masses of dragoons to re- 
treat, he threw a hasty glance backwards, and his 
face almost touched WyndhanVs. A deep flush 
overspread his dark features, and with renewed 
vigor he turne 1 towards the enemy. They were 
no match for the torrent-like rush of the Scots, 
whose Highland war-cries sounded above the clat- 
ter of arms. 

“ The standard ! the standard ! ” was the cry. 

9 


130 


THE MAID OF STRALSUND . 


The Arnheimers were literally crushed back 
through the breach. Two hands, that had fought 
side by side, were laid on the standard at the same 
moment. Wyndham, in acknowledgment of his 
rival’s rare valor, loosened his hold, b,ut was sud- 
denly struck, and fell senseless to the ground. 
His faithful Roger, also wounded and scarcely able 
to walk, dragged him out of the crush to a place of 
comparative safety, then dropped down himself by 
the body of his master. At that moment the sun 
rose majestically out of the sea as if to greet the 
victorious city. 


CHAPTER XIII. 


WALLENSTEIN S CAMP 


HE sun was rising slowly in the cloudless sky, 



and its rays were reflected by the dazzling 
arms of a regiment of infantry that stood drawn up 
in the Imperial camp, so as to form a passage to 
the capacious tent from whence the Duke of Fried- 
land issued his orders. It was a gay scene, this 
camp, at least to the superficial observer. The 
straight rows of white tents, with their streamers 
and bannerets, the different groups of soldiers in 
all sorts of undress, chatting together while enjoy- 
ing their morning meal, cleaning their arms, or 
cooking their food ; the merry, or rather boisterous 
laughter; the neighing horses, the splendidly- 
equipped officers who rode or walked about, — all 
this, in contrast with the dark foliage and darker 
stems of the trees in the midst of which the camp 
was pitched, made up a scene at once imposing 


1 3 2 


THE MAID OF STRALSUND. 


and beautiful. And yet there was in the midst of 
this brightness much that was dark. Look at 
these gay and laughing fellows, by whose lips the 
holiest names are profaned in heedlessness or 
bravado. Is there not a shade of sadness in those 
eyes, and do not those lips that laugh now, twitch 
in an unguarded moment, as if in pain ? If you 
follow that man’s thoughts, you would find that 
the little heart left to him was well-nigh breaking 
over the loss of some dear friend slain in yester- 
day’s encounter. Look at another. He has no 
sadness on his features ; they express nothing but 
brutal contentment as he eyes the cup of wine with 
the look of a drunkard, and chuckles over the ter- 
rible blasphemies uttered by a neighbor. Observe 
a third. A whole history of dark crimes and 
wickedness lies in that face : it is a page full of 
revelations, one line of which would be enough to 
make the angels weep. 

Indeed, when looking at these men, one could 
not help thinking that the cause cannot have been 
very good or noble which drew so many to its 
standard whose very features spoke of a bad and 
lawless character. Some regiments, it is true, 
made an exception, composed as they were of 
young men of good families, their servants and 


WALLENSTEIN'S CAMP. 


133 


dependants, who, inspired by religious zeal and 
ambition to follow so victorious a general as Fried- 
land, had exchanged their parental house for the 
camp. But, on the whole, Wallenstein’s army was 
composed of the scum of Germany. Robbers, 
murderers, thieves, deserters, heathens — everything 
— found a ready place there ; and as long as they 
conformed to his iron discipline, they were at 
liberty to practice their handicraft as hithertofore. 

The generalissimo’s tent was a magnificent struc- 
ture in the middle of the camp, under the shade of 
a large and spreading pine-tree. It was surrounded 
by a dozen other tents, which seemed to form a 
little camp by themselves, for they were inclosed 
by walls and a ditch, and before its openings or 
gateways sentries paced up and down with meas- 
ured steps. At this moment, however, two lines 
of soldiers were drawn up on each side of the 
approach, and formed a long and glittering wall 
towards the city. It was evident that some one 
was expected. Let us enter the tent and acquaint 
ourselves with its inmates. They may, perhaps, 
enlighten us. 

The tent was divided into three parts by thick 
curtains of tapestry. The first and largest com- 
partment was very simply and sparingly furnished 


i34 


THE MAID OF STRALSUND . 


with a rude table and a few chairs upon the bare 
floor. The second part presented a great contrast. 
The ground was covered by a soft carpet ; the sides 
were hung with dark blue velvet, and the gold 
tassels, which held up its graceful folds, pleasantly 
relieved the somewhat sombre color. A luxurious 
arm-chair in the middle, and half a dozen costly 
settees on each side, placed round an oblong table, 
with inkstands and paper upon it : such was the 
furniture of the general’s private audience-room, 
where the councils of war were held. But, on lift- 
ing the curtains that divided it from the third com- 
partment, the eye was struck by the magnificence 
and beauty of the duke’s private apartment. It 
was entirely lined with blue and white silk, crim- 
son velvet and gold ; the floor was covered with 
soft and downy tapestry ; the light was admitted 
through a rosy curtain, and luxuriant couches were 
ranged along the sides. 

In one corner, at a plain table, upon a wooden 
chair, and in striking contradistinction to the lux- 
ury around him, sat a tall and rather ungainly man. 
His dress was plain, and yet costly ; red hose 
reaching to the long riding-boot, a doublet of dark 
velvet, with diamonds instead of buttons, and a 
Spanish collar, was all he wore. A hat with a 


WALLENSTEIN'S CAMP . 


i3S 

long red feather lay on the floor beside him. His 
face was in keeping with his body, — long, bony, 
and with a sallow complexion. His hair was short, 
and, like his beard, of a red hue, his eyebrows 
thick and bristly. But the remarkable parts of his 
face were his forehead and eyes. His forehead was 
high and narrow, crossed by many lines, which 
ruffled and smoothed again with wonderful rapidity, 
like the changing expression of his eye. A chart 
of Stralsund lay upon the table before him, and 
upon his thin lips played a slight smile every time 
his eyes fell upon it. At last, with a gesture of 
impatience, he rang a little silver bell on his table. 
A page appeared. 

“ Has Count Arnheim not arrived yet?” he 
asked. 

“ He is on his way, your excellency,” said a 
voice behind the curtain of the middle compart- 
ment, which was immediately parted, and revealed 
a man somewhat shorter than Wallenstein, entirely 
enveloped in a large cloak, and covered with a 
curious conically-shaped hat. He was of swarthy 
complexion, and spoke with a foreign accent. 
“ He bade me greet you in his name, and inform 
you that he will be here almost immediately. And 
I would not have come with this message had he 


i3 6 THE maid of steals und. 

not asked of me to intercede for him in the case of 
his favorite servant, whose execution he has de- 
layed, in order once more to plead his life/’ 

Wallenstein had listened but carelessly, and care- 
lessly he answered, — 

“ The noble count seems to value his servants 
more than his master. The fellow must die. What 
news ? ” 

“ Pardon me,” said the other, “but this man 
cannot be allowed to die innocently. The crime of 
which he is charged was never perpetrated by him.” 

“ Enough, my dear Seni,” said the duke, with a 
slight and momentary frown ; “ he must die, were 
it alone because I have said so.” 

The stranger moved a step nearer, and pointing 
to heaven, said a few words in Italian ; when he 
continued in German : “And what they said then 
they say now. Let not the planet lose any of its 
satellites.” 

The duke’s face had undergone a hardly percepti- 
ble change at the words of his astrologer, for 
such the stranger was. When the latter ceased, 
he was silent for a moment, and then, taking 
a pen, wrote a few words. “ You are right, I think. 
It is, after all, a small matter to oblige him in. 
Here is the pardon. And now let him come.” 


WALLENSTEIN'S CAMP . 


*37 

The page here entered, and announced the duke's 
adjutant, General Teller. The curtain was lifted, 
and admitted a tall man fully equipped in the daz- 
zling armor of the Hungarian troops. The duke’s 
eye rested on him with satisfaction while he answer- 
ed the short and pointed questions of his master. 

“ And here, general, is an order, forbidding the 
wearing of unnecessary ornaments about the uni- 
form. Have it read and executed. Methinks these 
officers are becoming somewhat too gaudy.” 

Teller took the order and read it. Then, as he 
strode towards the curtain, he seized the heavy 
gold chain that dangled over his corselet, and to 
which a small ivory whistle was attached, and 
tearing it from his shoulder, flung it to the page. 
The duke eyed him with a smile. The general had 
touched his weak point. Immediate obedience was 
in Wallenstein’s eyes the soldier’s first, almost the 
only virtue. 

“ Stay, general,” he said, taking a magnificent 
diamong ring from his finger ; “ so sudden a loss 
must be repaired. Rings are not forbidden. Take 
mine.” 

The cunning adjutant kissed the liberal hand and 
withdrew. 

A few moments afterwards the Count Arnheim 


I3 8 THE maid of stralsund. 

was announced, and a tall, stout, well-built man, of 
soldier-like appearance, entered at the head of a 
little group of officers. When arrived before the 
duke, who remained seated, he made a low bow, 
saying : “ Let me thank your excellency for the life 
of my heathen. It is the most valuable of all your 
valuable presents.’' , 

“ Nor shall it be the last, good count,” answered 
the duke. “ What news of the town ? Are these 
burgher- folk coming, or shall we have to fetch them, 
since it is good that we meet ?” 

“ They are awaiting your pleasure,” answered 
Arnheim, “ and may be brought hither in a few 
moments. But once more, I would submit to you 
that gentle measures are out of place now. The 
town is short of provisions, disease is prevalent 
amongst the garrison, and the iron should be struck 
while it is hot.” 

“ Nay, good count,” said the duke ; “ but which is 
easier, to get the thin or the thick end of the wedge 
in ? When once it is in, let us strike by all means. 
The wind may change at any hour, and the town 
may receive reinforcement and food. Should we be 
able, by mild propositions, to gain the town ere this 
happens, we may save ourselves much trouble. 
What say you, prince ? ” 


WALLENSTEIN’S CAMP . 


139 


“ Your excellency,” said the Elector of Branden- 
burg, in whose territory Stralsund lay, “ my judg- 
ment may not seem impartial, but I would decidedly 
advise mild measures. By too much pulling, the 
bow is broken and the arrow is useless.” 

“ Let them be brought before us,” said the duke ; 
and an officer retired to give the order. A few 
moments afterwards the curtains which divided the 
first and second compartments were drawn up, and 
the space was filled with officers of all regiments, 
who ranged themselves on each side of their chief 
as he took his seat in the chair at the head of the 
table, with his eyes looking down the immovable 
rows of soldiers. And woe to the unhappy man in 
whom those eyes detected a flaw ! He would have 
had cause to repent ere the day was over. 

A roll of the drum and a movement amongst 
the soldiers now turned the eyes of all in that 
direction. A group of seven men, preceded by an 
Imperial officer, strode towards the tent. When 
arrived before the duke, the party stopped and 
bowed low, headed by Hasert, the syndic of Stral- 
sund, and behind him Hoyert and Joachim von 
Braun, the two secretaries. 

“ These, then, are the deputies from our friends 
in Stralsund ? ” said the duke in as kind a voice as 


140 


THE MAID OF STRALSUND. 


his imperious tones and manner would allow him ; 
“ let them be seated, and let us hear their wish.” 

At a hint of Teller, chairs were brought and the 
party sat down. Then Hasert, the syndic, rose, 
and in eloquent and vivid terms began describing 
the state of affairs. It was a sorry sight to see the 
brethren of one house, the children of one nation, 
shedding each others blood ; and if by arbitration 
such might be prevented, both heaven and earth 
would ring with joy ; for, as might be supposed, 
the inhabitants of Stralsund were suffering very 
severely from want and sickness ; bread was very 
dear, meat so scarce that none but the wealthy 
could afford it; dysentery, fever, and other diseases 
were reigning both amongst the soldiers and the 
burghers ; and they prayed, for the love of God, 
something might be found to stop so great a dis- 
tress. 

There was a silence when the syndic had finished, 
and his words seemed to have made a deep impres- 
sion upon the duke. After some moments, looking 
fixedly at Hasert, he said, in a measured voice, that 
he was astonished to hear that the inhabitants of 
Stralsund had been so foolish as to allow matters 
to go on so far ; that he was greatly pleased to see 
them before him in a spirit of humility, and that 


WALLENSTEIN'S CAMP. 


141 

he would gladly forget and pardon whatever had 
hitherto been done by the town. But upon one 
thing, and upon that only, he must insist; the 
town must admit a garrison, and it must swear 
allegiance to the Emperor. That was all he want- 
ed, and surely no more reasonable demand could 
be made. “ We do not wish to possess the Dan- 
holm, n he concluded ; “ we do not even wish our sol- 
diers to enter the town. Have your own soldiers ; 
but let them take the oath of fidelity to the Emper- 
or. Your lot is now in your own hands. We have 
resolved that Stralsund shall belong to the Em- 
peror, even if it were tied with chains to heaven.” 

The deputies retired, looking at each other in 
blank astonishment. So kind, so favorable a recep- 
tion was more than they had dared to hope. At 
the end of the wood they remounted a wagon which 
had brought them, and were conducted to the out- 
works at the Tribsee Gate. Not long afterwards 
they were seated in the town hall, surrounded by the 
principal burghers, deliberating on what had been 
proposed. Many and various were the opinions. 

Hasert, who had spoken, gave a detailed account 
of what had happened, stating as his own view that 
these conditions, being far more lenient than he had 
expected, should be accepted at once. The Danish 


142 


THE MAID OF STRALSUND. 


and Swedish commanders were decidedly against 
this. They were sure, they said, to receive rein- 
forcement and supply ; whereas if the town were 
once out of their hands it would be lost for ever. 

“For,” said Rosladin, “there are three questions 
to be answered : How large is this garrison to be ? 
Who will pay it ? Who will command it ? Do you 
not see that it is but a trick of theirs ? ” 

Others, again, contended that much greater 
loss than they suffered now it would scarcely be 
possible to suffer. The arrival of reinforcement 
and supply was very doubtful ; and they had now the 
opportunity of making peace with an enemy who 
would be almost certain to perpetrate the greatest 
cruelties upon them should they fall into his hands 
after a refusal. The debate upon this question 
began in the afternoon, but so divided and obsti- 
nate were the different parties in their views that 
the evening fell and night wore on, and morning 
dawned again ere the disputants dispersed for a 
little rest. 


CHAPTER XIV. 


THE DUKE’S ADMONITION. 

HE next day, about noon, Baverley crossed 



-*• the garden of the little dwelling, and opened 
the door of the garden-house, which they had ex- 
clusively occupied from the beginning. He en- 
tered cautiously, for he believed that his friend was 
hovering between life and death, but to his utter 
astonishment he found Wyndham quietly looking 
at him from his bed ; while Roger, whose wound 
although painful, did not prevent the performance 
of his duties, bustled about the room in attendance 
upon his master. The honest servant cautioned 
Baverley to talk but little, nor allow his friend to 
talk, for the chirurgeon had given strict orders that 
his patient should be kept without excitement. 
Baverley promised to follow the instructions, and 
seated himself by the bedside. But with his usual 
bluntness he hit upon the only topic that was able 


144 


THE MAID OF STRALSUND. 


to stir the spirits of the wounded man. While 
looking at the pale cheeks that had been covered 
with the bloom of health not many hours ago, he 
shook his head. 

“ I knew that he hated you, and that he had a 
suspicion of your secret love for his mistress ; but 
that his wrath would have dragged him into such 
vile conduct I had not thought/’ 

“ Nay, Master Baverley,” said Roger, discontent- 
edly. “ I do beseech you, let us leave this matter 
alone. Let us think of healing, not of raking up 
old wounds.” 

“ Well, well, Roger, thou’rt right, no doubt,” 
answered Baverley, “and I must say no more 
about it. I marvel whether he is dead ? ” 

“ Who ? ” said Wyndham, fixing his eye upon 
his friend. 

“Who but Theodore, your rival for the stan- 
dard ? ” answered Baverley. 

“ And why should he be dead ? Didst thou not 
tell me he was safe, Roger, and would come to see 
me soon ? ” 

“Ay, captain,” answered Roger, doggedly. 

“Nay, but, good Roger, how can he, when he is 
in prison?” remonstrated Baverley. 

“ He ij> in a worse place than that,” growled 


THE DUKE'S ADMONITION. 


*45 

Roger, “ and that is the tip of your tongue. Are 
the records of treason fit meal for so weak a 
stomach ? Look at the captain, say I.” 

They looked at him. He lay with closed eyes 
and pale countenance, apparently unconscious. But 
presently he said slowly, “ I had hoped that none 
but myself knew of this matter, but I find I am 
wrong. Can ye keep it secret, at least for her sake ? 
For if she knew of it I fear me she would scarcely 
bear the shock.” 

“ Oh, as for that, there’s but little danger of her 
escaping the secret with Master Baverley near her. 
She knew it as soon as she saw you, and it seemed 
to me she bore the shock very well.” 

Roger watched the invalid from the corner of 
his eyes, and saw a faint flush spread over his cheeks. 
Then to follow up his advantage, he continued, 
“ She bade me tell the whole history on’t, and she 
wept many a tear, and sighed and trembled, and 
when my tale was done, says she, ‘ Thank Heaven, 
that he, at least, is not dead ! ’ which, I take it, was 
meant for you.” 

“ And you say Theodore is a prisoner ? I know 
nothing. I saw it in his face. I felt the blow 
coming, although I saw not the hand that struck it. 
I knew it ere the fight began ; and when we came 

IO 


I4 6 the maid of stralsund . 

to the rescue, I saw that he hated me with a deep 
hatred. But how *twas done I know not.” 

“ Ay, but Roger saw it ; and so, indeed, did I, 
and many others,” said Baverley, somewhat demon- 
stratively. “ I saw the dark flush on his cheek, and 
he crouching together as though he had been a wild 
beast. And when he saw you bleeding at his feet 
he gave a great cry, and would have stabbed him- 
self but for Roger, who knocked the sword out of 
his hand. I know not whether he went of his own 
will, or whether Arnheim’s hussars dragged him on 
with their standard ; but he is nowhere to be found, 
— not amongst the dead, nor yet the wounded, nor 
the living, — so he must be with them. I hope they 
will find him better company than we did.” 

“ It will not be long ere we know what became of 
him,” growled Roger : “ we shall soon be all to gether.” 

“What now? Is there so great a danger?” 
asked Wyndham. 

“ The danger from within is greater than from 
without,” answered Baverley. “ What with Rosladin 
and Hoik both wounded, and the scarcity of food, 
and the people clamoring to give in to the con- 
ditions of the duke, I greatly fear the town will be 
in his hands ere long. They are deliberating in 
the Rathhaus now — ” 


THE DUKE'S ADMONITION. 


147 

He was interrupted in his ill-chosen speech by 
the movement of his friend, who with a hasty ges- 
ture had thrown the covering from his bed and at- 
tempted to rise. 

“ Deliberating in the Rathhaus whether the town 
is to be sacked or not : and I lie here without rais- 
ing my voice against it ! Come, quick, my hose, 
Roger, my doublet, my — ” 

He sank back on the bed, unconscious, and a 
deathly pallor overspread his face. 

To escape the anger of Roger, who justly re- 
proached him with having brought on this renewal 
of danger, and in order to find some speedy assist- 
ance, Baverley hurried out into the street. He had 
not got far when one single cannon-shot boomed 
over the city. The people in the street paused and 
looked at each other in blank astonishment. An 
armistice had been agreed upon until the town had 
given a definite answer to the duke. The answer 
had not yet been sent. 

“ Strange ! ” they exclaimed. “ What betideth 
now ? ” 

Presently a second shot was fired. Then all was 
silent. Baverley resumed his way, framing in his 
mind some explanation of the strange occurrence ; 
when, as he was within a few yards of the house in 


148 the maid of stralsund. 

which the surgeon was quartered, another shot, 
deeper, heavier, it almost seemed angrier, than 
either of the two preceding, shook the little win- 
dows of each house. Immediately afterwards there 
broke over the city a cannonade so ear-deafening, 
so completely bewildering in its continued roar, 
that the people ran out of their houses into the 
street, firmly believing that either half the city had 
been blown up or that the last day had come. By- 
and-bye, as outburst followed upon outburst, and 
crash succeeded crash, when falling chimneys and 
flying tiles threatened every life in the street, people 
begaTi to understand what was going on. 

Wallenstein, who had expected an immediate 
answer to his very lenient terms, finding himself dis- 
appointed, resolved to give the town a slight sample 
of his power to hasten the decision. Nor was he 
long in finding a favorable opportunity to break 
the armistice. The Tribsee Gate and outworks 
were defended and guarded by Danish soldiers, and 
with the cunning of a fox Wallenstein resolved to 
tempt them into a breach of the armistice. He 
ordered his miners and sappers to commence work- 
ing vigorously at the trenches, which order having 
been executed, soon attracted the attention of the 
Danes. A blank shot out of their cannon warned 


THE DUKE'S ADMONITION. 


149 

the sappers to desist ; and when the summons was 
not responded to a ball was sent over, which scat- 
tered the sand far and wide, and wounded a soldier. 
This was just what Friedland wanted. He had all 
his guns ready manned and loaded. The sign was 
given by one mortar. Then all his cannon began 
playing upon the unfortunate city for the space of 
twenty hours. In the public records it is noted 
down that over two thousand shots were counted, 
but this number is probably very far short of the 
reality. 

The alarmed citizens, not knowing whether this 
was the overture to another and still fiercer assault, 
flocked in terror to the churches when they could 
find courage enough to cross the streets which were 
strewed with bricks, broken windows, chimneys, 
and cannon-balls, while every house shook with the 
concussion. Amongst these scenes of terror there 
were some remarkable instances of preservation. 
Pastor Hermann, as usual, was ready at his post as 
soon as the danger began. Many members of his 
congregation, deeming the church the safest place 
in such danger, had fled thither in a height of terror, 
which it cost the good man a deal of trouble some- 
what to abate. At last, having calmed their fears 
he mounted his little pulpit, and opening the large 


THE MAID OF STRALSUND. 


15 ° 

Bible which lay upon a sort of brass reading desk, he 
read words of comfort and consolation to them. In 
the middle of his words, while his trembling audience 
took new courage by his very looks, a terrible crash 
was heard, followed immediately by another, and 
the pastor was seen to stagger. The whole con- 
gregation rose in alarm, but above everything his 
powerful and exulting voice was heard entreating 
silence. 

“ My dear brethren,” he said at last, holding up 
the Bible, “ the devil may make a great deal of 
noise and do a great deal of harm, but he cannot 
take away this precious book — our main support.” 
It was found on examination that a cannon-ball 
had entered the church by the window, knocked 
the desk from under the Bible without removing 
the book from the pulpit, and had left the church 
by the opposite window without hurting a single 
creature. 

Later in the day the pastor had still more reason 
to be thankful for the marvellous preservation of 
his best friend. Old Herr Wechter, who lay sleep- 
ing by the side of his somewhat infirm wife, was 
also awakened by the fearful noise of the cannonade, 
and immediately prepared to rise again and appear 
on duty. The remonstrances of his wife were of 


THE DUKE'S ADMONITION. 


* 5 * 

no avail. She told him that since he had not been 
in bed more than two or three hours, let those who 
had enjoyed a good night’s rest defend the sleeping. 
But he was inexorable. His conduct, he averred, 
was noted by every one in the town, and most 
of all, he added with a grave sadness, since so 
deep a stain had been cast upon his name. The 
poor, who were starving, would cry out if they saw 
him not, and believe they had all the danger in 
protecting his property. The rich might note his 
absence and feel inclined to follow it : while Luth- 
eran and Calvinist would blame him alike for 
sleeping in the hour of danger. 

Though tried almost beyond endurance, he rallied 
his strength and went out. When, after six hours 
of incessant work, he returned home, his wife met 
him with tears in her eyes, and silently taking him 
by the hand, led him to the bed which he had left. 
What was his astonishment when, on the spot 
where he had lain, he found a large cannon-ball 
half buried in the clothes ! 


CHAPTER XV. 


THE CITY IS SAVED. 

HE captain's wound proved not very danger- 



ous after all. The treacherous blow from the 
unfortunate youth had glanced off from the helmet 
and given him a wound which, though broad, was 
not very deep. It had, fortunately, bled a good 
deal. Roger had furiously resisted the surgeon's 
attempt at further bleeding, and had as good as 
taken the patient in hand himself, which, as he was 
a canny Scot, gave the wound a very fair chance of 
healing. 

For the first week it was very delightful to lie 
under the shadow of the chestnut-tree and receive 
the visits from his comrades and friends, who kept 
him fully informed of all that went on in the town 
and outside it. And it was more delightful still to 
be tended by that sweetest of all nurses, Helena, 
whose gentle ways would have reconciled him to a 


152 


THE CITY IS SA VED. 


*53 

much harder position. After what had happened, 
it would have been a wonder if these two had left 
unspoken what their every look and gesture said 
aloud. And yet some accident would probably 
have interposed between them in their mutual 
reserve and shyness, had not her father, to whom 
the state of affairs had long been patent, assisted 
them in his own peculiar way. 

There had been a little scene between father and 
daughter on the morning of the interview between 
Helena and her lover. When the latter left the 
house, he so pitied the youth that he resolved to try 
and reconcile them if possible ; for the old man was 
honorable, and would have done all in his power to 
fulfil his part of the bargain. But when he came to 
speak to his daughter, he had not the courage to 
counsel her to marry Theodore. She had no mother, 
and although her father had endeavored to fill the 
blank as much as it is in a man’s nature to do, 
there were moments when his sturdier mind could 
scarcely comprehend the delicate workings of a 
maiden’s heart. Leaning against his shoulder, she 
told him with many a half-reluctant sob her whole 
story ; how on the previpus night, when she had 
committed so great an indiscretion, as it appeared 
to others, the young Englishman’s grave yet gentle 


*54 


THE MAID OF STRALSUND. 


words of reproach had shown her the real nobil’ty of 
his soul. And how that very morning, when she 
thought Theodore had killed him, her heart told 
her that without him life would be blank. After 
that the honest pastor had not the heart to engraft 
his little bud on the stem it loved not ; and he was 
relieved from all doubt when he was told of Theo- 
dore’s deed, that severed him for ever from those 
who loved him still, but loved him as one who was 
lost. 

For the first week it was delightful to Wyndham 
to listen to her voice and hear the account of her 
little adventure on the quay. How she had man- 
aged to prepare everything for the poor Irishwoman, 
and how her heart had beat when they passed the 
gate alone ; how they were almost discovered when 
the woman jumped into the boat and took the oars ; 
and how thankful and yet ashamed she was when 
she went to the captain, which, after all, she need 
not have done ; and how the whole was summed 
up in the assurance that if ever there was a woman 
that would risk her life for her or her friends, it 
was the wife of Joe Marks the gypsy. Little did 
she know that it would soon be proved. 

At the beginning of the second week, Wyndham 
began to fret, and sorely wanted to be up and doing. 


THE CITY IS SA VED. 


*55 

His Swedish and Scotch physicians both refused 
permission, for although it was a good sign, they 
deemed it more prudent to let him remain quiet as 
long as he was not absolutely wanted. 

At the end of the week he became rebellious and 
insisted on dressing himself. The Swede shook 
his head ; but the Scot Roger, who knew his mas- 
ter better, shook his head the other way in a very 
determined fashion, not knowing Swedish, and said, 
Yes ! Wyndham accordingly got up, and was 
heartily welcomed by all his comrades. The story 
of the origin of his wound, and the halo of romance 
about it, had been told by one to another until every 
one knew it, and his recovery was an event of some 
interest. Moreover, Helena, one of the few women 
who had courageously remained when most of her 
sex fled to Sweden, was greatly loved and admired in 
the town ; and few could deny that the handsome 
Scot was better suited to her than the gloomy, un- 
popular and haughty young Wechter. 

The siege in the meanwhile had not progressed 
very actively, as far as fighting went. After the 
sharp cannonade on the 12th of July, Wallenstein 
considered it better to let the city have time for de- 
liberation, keeping up a lazy firing to remind them 
that he was not asleep. He knew that he had an 


156 the maid of stralsund. 

ally within the city that would do and was doing 
more than all his powder. That ally was starva- 
tion ! 

The weather was provokingly lovely ; not a cloud 
was to be seen in the sky, not a drop of rain fell. 
The wells that supplied the besieged began gradually 
to fail. The reservoirs were stagnant, their water 
useless. The wind, being due south, prevented any 
ships from approaching the city. The price of 
every commodity rose rapidly ; luxuries were not 
to be had ; necessaries were paid for in gold. In 
vain did Wechter and other wealthy citizens open 
their warehouses to the poor. A pestilence broke 
out among them that carried many thin, wasting, 
starving victims to an early grave. The churches 
were full of people praying for relief. The minis- 
ters themselves felt the want as deeply a$ any one, 
and were at times unable to fulfil their duty. 

With all this, the duke had the sense to keep 
almost perfectly quiescent. No furious storms, no 
incessant battering, no houses and magazines on 
fire, did he allow to intervene between them and 
their misery. There was nothing to draw their 
attention away from themselves ; indeed the sol- 
diers on both sides were fast becoming friends as 
they walked their sentry-post on each side of the 


THE CITY IS SA VED. 


*57 

fosse. There were plenty of things the Imperial 
soldier had, — such as bread and wine and meat. 
There was only one thing the Stralsunder had, and 
that he had in unlimited quantities, tobacco, which 
was coming into fashion with the Germans. The two 
sentries, if they were able to understand each other, 
exchanged civilities and possessions, and talked 
over the siege, when he without would take care to 
extol the abundance in the Imperial camp, the 
pleasant life, and the leniency of the officers. 1 Prob- 
ably a few hours later they would meet each other 
in one of the frequent sallies with which Rosladin 
endeavored to engage his men, and they would take 
their chance of killing each other without further 
thought. 

In the meanwhile the Imperial trooper reported 
to his captain that the Stralsunder was looking 
very thin ; and the Stralsunder went home and told 
his comrades and friends that the besiegers had 
everything of the best, and that, they might have it 
too, and make the town once more what it was be- 
fore the siege, if the burgomaster and rich citizens 
would only give in. Consequently, night after 
night stormy meetings were held in the Town Hall 
about the surrender. Negotiations had been com- 
menced once more, Wallenstein this time making 


i 5 8 the maid of stralsund . 

his conditions somewhat harder, and insisting upon 
a sum of money being paid him, and the town re- 
ceiving a garrison of his own soldiers. At the 
same time his miners and sappers again began to 
work in the trenches, and his lines were drawing 
nearer and nearer. The population grew almost 
furious, and clamored for consent. The magis 
trates hesitated, but refused. One thing still in- 
spired them with hope. On the morning of the 
22d of 'July, a little boat had arrived from the sea, 
rowed by a single man, from Stockholm. The des- 
patches which he bore were from the king himself, 
and from his chancellor, and they exhorted those 
of the city to keep courage, for a fleet with plenty 
of provisions and 2,000 men, under General Leslie, 
was ready to sail as soon as the wind turned. 

Thus Sunday, the 23d of July, was passed ; the 
weather insufferably hot. and the sky above them 
blue and cloudless ; the sea a perfect lake ; the 
enemy drawing nearer and nearer. 

“ This will never last,” said Wyndham to his 
friend, as they both stood on the quay and looked 
out to sea. “ If we have no rain or change of wind 
within twenty-four hours, we are lost. ” 

The following morning, when they looked out of 
the window, they found the garden drenched with 


THE CITY IS SA VED. 


*59 

rain. The wind had changed. The Imperial trenches 
were converted into heaps of mud, and had been 
abandoned during the night. In the rain that came 
pouring down during the next days, Wallenstein 
broke up his camp, with the exception of the prin- 
cipal batteries occupied by Arnheim’s men, and 
marched his army into Mecklenburg. On the 26th, 
General Leslie arrived with his fleet, amidst the 
rejoicings of the whole populace. 

Although the three gates were still threatened by 
Arnheim, the people flocked in holiday attire to 
the quay and cheered the soldiers as they landed. 
Booths were erected on the jetties, and provisions 
given or sold as soon as they arrived. . The danger 
was past, the people had gloriously done their 
duty ; the famous Wallenstein had been defeated ; 
and the town was as free and as strong as ever. 

Amidst this summing up of pleasant things, it is 
sad to have to record one detail of sorrow that 
affects our story. 

On the 2d of August, after General Leslie had 
reviewed the whole of the troops, he repaired to the 
Franken Gate to inspect the enemy’s works, which 
had by this time been forsaken, Arnheim having 
withdrawn his troops during the night. It was, 
however, deemed safer to reconnoitre before trust- 


r 6 o THE maid of steals und. 

ing to the dangers of a surprise, and Wyndham was 
commanded to see that all was safe. Eager to be 
again employed on duty under an officer whom he 
loved so well, he hurried away at the head of his 
volunteers to report what was considered a mere 
matter of fact. Those remaining behind eyed tne 
troops with interest as they disappeared in the 
trenches, and would sometimes jump on the top of 
a rampart. Suddenly, shots and cries were heard ; 
but ere any one could come to the rescue, half the 
men were flying back to the city, pursued by Arn- 
heim’s cavalry. They reached the city more dead 
than alive, many of them seriously wounded, and 
all covered with the disgrace of having left their 
captain and half their comrades in the enemy’s 
hands. 


CHAPTER XVI. 

WYNDHAM PRISONER. 

T T was but too true. As work after work and 
trench after trench of the enemy was found 
forsaken, the reconnoitring party lost some of the 
caution which should have been observed to the 
very last. Suddenly turning round the corner of a 
breastwork, one of the foremost men gave the alarm 
and sank down pierced with shot. Wyndham im- 
mediately called upon his men to stand firm and 
hold together. It was his intention to retire to one 
of the abandoned works and defend himself there 
till help should arrive. Unfortunately, his foot 
slipped on the soft ground ; he fell heavily to the 
earth, and the force of the fall, together with the 
effects of his late wound, deprived him of conscious- 
ness. His men fell into disorder, a panic ensued, 
and those who were not killed or wounded, fled to 
the city. The soldiers that were sent to the rescue 

ii * 6 * 


162 


THE MAID OF STEALS UAH. 


saw the dragoons gallop away, with the prisoners 
before them on their saddles, to where Arnheim’s 
troops were encamped for the night. 

When Wyndham opened his eyes it was dark, 
though a fire close by threw a strange light upon 
the objects that surrounded^ it. He lay for some 
moments perfectly still and saw the stars twinkling 
above, while a confused din and bustle told him 
that he was in a camp. As his eyes grew more 
accustomed to the darkness, he saw the white tents 
everywhere and the bright fires in the distance, the 
dark figures which passed before them assuming a 
fantastic and unearthly shape. Moving very cau- 
tiously, so as to attract no attention, he contrived 
to turn himself round and face the fire already 
mentioned. It was surrounded by about twenty 
men, who were drinking, and some of them smok- 
ing, while all watched with intense anxiety the 
steam which arose in circles from a large iron pot 
hung up on the fire. He could see by the dress 
that the men belonged to a regiment of dragoons. 

“ Come, thou lazy dog ! ” said one of the soldiers 
with an immense beard, accompanying the words 
with an oath ; “ if that supper be not ready when I 
have finished my pipe, I shall certainly break thy 
head.” 


WYNDHAM PRISONER. 1 63 

In answer to this threat a little man, who was 
walking between the fire and a neighboring tent, 
apparently superintending the cooking operations, 
turned to the first speaker and began to utter a 
volley of abuse that made Wyndham shudder. But 
far from this being the case with the other part of 
the audience, they laughed and applauded the fel- 
low ; and when, having worked himself up to a 
pitch of excitement, he drew a flaming piece of 
wood out of the fire and held it before his discon- 
certed antagonist’s face, their mirth knew no 
bounds. Each had his own joke to fling at the first 
speaker, and the torrent of riotous and violent lan- 
guage which fell upon Henry’s eat at that moment 
might well have caused him to start had he not 
already known something of the composition of 
Wallenstein’s army. There was one thing, how- 
ever, that astonished him most of all. He had 
heard, or at least he fancied, that English and 
Scotch words were mixed with the German, and 
that in more voices than one. He scanned the sev- 
eral faces of those who sat turned towards him, and 
he felt sure that there were some of his country- 
men amongst them. Resolving, however, to ascer- 
tain the truth first, he remained quiet and listened. 

“ Silence!” shouted the bearded object of their 


! 6 4 THE MAID OF STEALS HMD. 

mirth. “We shall have the captain upon us, and 
then some other regiment will get the post of con- 
veying these prisoners, which little holiday I would 
not lose for aught.” 

“ Where are they going ? ” asked several voices. 

“ Oh-ho, thou art getting inquisitive ! ” answered 
the first speaker. 

“ I only want to know,” said one ; “ because, if 
we are going the same way we came, we are more 
likely to starve than if we remained with the army.” 

There was a laugh amongst the men. Wallen- 
stein had come to Stralsund from Frankfort, right 
through the territory of Brandenburg, and his way 
could be traced by the devastated fields, burned vil- 
lages, and other tokens of violence committed by 
his army. The soldier meant that he was afraid so 
little had been left, that even they would not be 
able to keep themselves from starving. 

“ Don't be afraid,” said the bearded one again. 
“ I have not been quartermaster for ten years with- 
out knowing what to do. Joseph here can testify 
that he has never been without something where- 
withal to make a supper, if he would only make it.” 

“ Ay,” said the little fellow, stirring the contents 
of the pot, “ he’s right there. He's the best quar- 
termaster I wot of. He's the best actor, I believe, 


WYNDHAM PRISONER. Y 65 

that ever was born. You should have seen him 
one day how he played the prodigal son, and got the 
fatted calf indeed.” 

“ Tell us, tell us,” cried several voices at once. 

“ Well,” quoth the quartermaster, stroking his 
beard, “since we are not likely to get our supper at 
all, I had better keep my mouth engaged on some- 
thing. Before I served the Duke, I served my 
Lord of Bavaria, a sorry scoundrel like myself and 
all of us. We betook ourselves to Bohemia, with 
orders, forsooth, to protect the inhabitants. Never 
were protectors so bitterly thanked as were we. 
And methinks not undeservedly at times, for we 
plagued them sorely, so that anon a heap of armed 
peasants would pounce upon us and fight with 
scythe and bill-hook right bloodily, and oft drive us 
and ours before them. 

“ But it passed one day that we came upon a vil- 
lage called Luttig, wherein the peasants had armed 
themselves with matchlock and crossbow, and as 
they looked doughty men it seemed a dangerous 
thing to annoy them, and we passed on. But, lo! 
while we were yet grumbling with disappointment, 
we came upon a little church with a house beside 
it, standing by itself a little way out of the village. 
It suddenly occurred to me that this must be the 


x 66 THE maid of stralsund. 

house of an old comrade of mine who was killed, 
and whose name was Franz Zecker. I promptly 
hid my men in a little wood hard by, and knocking 
at the door, asked in a trembling voice, whether 
Franz Zecker lived there. They answered that he 
did. I entered, and made them believe that I was 
their runaway son ; for, mark you, I was vrondrous 
like him, both being as it were very handsome men, 
and I had not forgotten Franz’s tale. Heigho ! I 
got all I wanted, I warrant you ; and, after supper, 
when they had all gone to bed, I opened the house 
to the other men and let them in. And we put 
sentinels to the several doors, and threatened to shoot 
them if they stirred. And then we cleared the 
house of bread, meat, bacon, money, beer, and loaded 
our horses. But the servant-wench had contrived 
to drop herself out of the window, and had run to 
the village, which was about six or seven furlongs 
off, and we had great difficulty in getting clear of 
our pursuers, for we were overburdened with booty. 
The very hags came running out with scythes and 
pitchforks to kill us. But they had some reason to 
stay behind, too, for we had set fire to the old 
church, and we could see it flaring up behind us for 
miles. We have had many a good laugh over the 
affair since then.” 


IVYNDHAM PRISONER. 167 

Such acts of treachery, the mere recital of which 
is distasteful to modern ears, were too common in 
those days. The maxim that nothing* is unlawful 
in war demoralized the common soldiery, and was 
held to justify the wildest excesses. In Wallenstein’s 
army were some of the greatest ruffians in Europe, 
and no true picture of the times can wholly ignore 
these scenes. 

“ God forgive them their sins ! ” said a deep and 
earnest voice in German, close to Wyndham’s ear, 
when the bearded monster had finished his tale 
with apparent satisfaction. He turned his head 
towards the side from whence these sounds came, 
and saw about two yards away from him several 
men in a sitting or lying position, some dressed as 
soldiers, others as civilians. The person who had 
apparently spoken the last words was, to judge by 
his dress, a Protestant clergyman. His grave and 
expressive face betokened at that moment a height 
of indignation and horror which well accorded with 
the feelings the fellow’s tale had originated in his 
own breast. 

“ Hallo ! ” said one of the soldiers nearest 
to Wyndham, and who had heard the exclama- 
tion, “ is our parson speaking again ? What 
were you pleased to remark, Sir Longsermon ? ” 


1 68 the maid of stralsund, 

he said, turning with mock politeness to the 
prisoner. 

“ I prayed that God might forgive all of you for 
taking part in such deeds or listening to such 
blasphemous language,” said the undaunted man, in 
in a rm voice. 

“ Blasphemous language!” cried the quarter- 
master, across the fire. “ I would advise thee, my 
good sir, to hold thy tongue, unless thou wantest to 
be roasted on this fire. I desire no comments 
whatever on my language.” 

“ My good friend,” answered the prisoner, in a 
clear tone, “ I earnestly beg of you to mend your 
ways while there is yet time.” 

The enraged quartermaster was in no mood for 
serious remonstrance. He frowned as he eyed the 
prisoner, who sat looking at the troop with a smile 
of pity upon his face. 

“ Look you, parson,” he said at last, in a short 
and threatening tone, “ we have had trouble enough 
with thee already. We want none of thy ser- 
mons ; and if thou holdest not thy tongue I 
shall put the chains and screw-thumbs on to thee ; ” 
and he accompanied his threat with a significant 
look. “ Nay,” said the preacher, calmly, “ ye would 
not 1' ave me be a coward, would you ? When you 


WYNDHAM PRISONER. j 69 

see the enemy, do you put up your sword and fly, 
or do you draw it and fight as long as you can ? 
Now, within you I perceive the arch-enemy, the 
destroyer of all life, who standeth between you and 
a merciful but a just God.” He was proceeding in 
a strain of earnest expostulation, but before he 
could utter another word the quartermaster jumped 
up in furious anger, and stepping round the fire he 
would have done the intrepid servant of Christ 
some grievous harm but for a fortunate circum- 
stance. We have mentioned that Wyndham 
thought he had caught some English words amidst 
the confusion of tongues. At this moment his 
doubt became certainty, 

As the ruffian was making his way to the prison- 
ers, and those around the fires turned in that 
direction to see what he was going to do, the figure 
of a vagabond, which Harry had noticed some time 
previous, stepped in his way, and said in a rich 
Irish brogue, “ Come, now, captain, why not hold 
your tongue, and tell us another, instead of striking 
a poor defenceless parson ? Here, I have something 
to tell you ; listen ! ” 

The quartermaster stopped and inclined his ear 
to the gypsy’s lips. His face lit up with a smile of 
pleasure ; and apparently forgetting all about the 


THE MAID OF STEALS UAH, 


170 

parson, he slapped the gypsy on the back, and 
exclaimed joyously. “ Wilt swear to that ! Nine 
in the orbit ? ” 

“ I saw it myself,” whispered the gypsy ; “ and 
so may your honor.” 

“ Then I am off,” cried the quartermaster, and 
ran away hastily. 

This little scene had engaged the attention of 
those around the fire, and at the departure of the 
quartermaster the gypsy was called to the group 
and overwhelmed with questions. 

“ What is nine in the orbit, thou old deceiver ? ” 
cried one ; “ canst not make it ten for me, and I’ll 
give thee a gold-piece ? ” 

“ That would do your honor no good,” answered 
the vagabond, shaking his head mysteriously. u I 
cannot disclose my secrets to the uninitiated ; but 
give me half a gold-piece, and I will tell you your 
fortune.” 

“ Half a gold-piece! ” cried another. “No won- 
der you fellows get rich. Here, Franz, I will tell 
you your fortune for less than that. I dare say I 
know as much about it as he does.” 

“ Rich ! ” said the gypsy, shrugging his shoul- 
ders and pointing to his ragged clothes ; “ is this 
wealth ? Even when we do happen to earn a few 


WYNDHAM PRISONER. 


171 

pieces, you steal them from us again. But I ac- 
cept your offer, Herreke. Here is my hand, and 
if you can read my fortune I promise you half a 
gold-piece.” 

The soldier, taken at his word, had to confess 
his ignorance, and consented to have his own hand 
examined for a few kreutzers. One after the other 
now crowded round the gypsy and offered his 
hand. At last, when they had all been satisfied, 
he asked in a supplicating voice : “ Will you also 
allow me to try the prisoners, Herreke ? ” 

“ Thou wilt be a clever fellow if thou canst find 
a single kreutzer upon them,” said a soldier, “ we 
took good care of that.” 

“ A poor man knows what a poor man wants,” 
answered the heathen ; “ the heavier a man's mis- 
fortune the greater his anxiety to know his fate ; 
and if they do not pay me now, they may some 
other day fourfold. A grateful debtor is often 
worth more than a reluctant customer.” 

He now addressed himself to the prisoners, some 
of whom refused his counsel, while others eagerly 
accepted it. When he came round to Harry, he 
looked at his hand and said, “ So young, so noble, 
so unfortunate ! Surely the stars have something 
better for you in store ? ” 


172 


THE MAID OF STRALSUND . 


“Do you know Joe Marks ?” whispered Harry, 
in English. 

The gypsy’s hand trembled slightly, and he cast a 
searching and distrustful glance at Harry. “ And 
what if I did ? ” he asked. 

“Tell him that you found me in this condition, 
and that I asked you to remind him of the Dan- 
holm. My name is Captain Wyndham.” 

“ He is in the duke’s army at present,” whis- 
pered the gypsy, “in the astrologer’s service ; but I 
shall not fail to tell him when I see him. You 
may be sure — ” 

“ What is that thou art saying to the prisoner ? ” 
broke in the voice of the quartermaster, who had 
returned from his errand. “ No secret dealing 
here, or — ” 

“ Nay, captain,” said the gypsy, turning round 
as he felt the soldier’s hand on his neck ; “was it 
not nine now ? I am sure it was nine ; and do not 
kill your benefactor entirely. But I have a word 
with your honor.” 

And drawing him apart, the gypsy spoke a few 
words in a low voice to the soldier. The way in 
which they looked at Harry convinced him that 
he was the subject of their conversation ; and the 
respectful manner in which the quartermaster 


WYNDHAM PRISONER. 


173 

afterwards treated him, made it not unlikely that 
the gypsy had prophesied things which caused the 
soldier to look upon him as one to be respected 
rather than injured. 

Thanks to the Irish quartermaster, they received 
some supper. Most of the soldiers round the fire 
had now wrapped themselves in their cloaks and 
gone to sleep; and following their example, Harry 
stretched himself out by the side of his new com- 
panion, and was soon forgetful of all his troubles. 


CHAPTER XVII. 


TEMPTED IN VAIN. 

HTHE next morning Wyndham awoke at the 
sound of the bugle, and found his compan- 
ions already awake. Rubbing his eyes, he looked 
around him for some time in blank astonishment. 
He had been dreaming about Stralsund and his 
wedding ; but now he found himself sitting on a 
horse-rug surrounded by soldiers who were wash- 
ing and dressing, while behind him eight or nine 
other men were lying on the ground chained 
together by the legs. Every face, every object 
was new and strange, and it was some time before 
the truth dawned upon him. At last he was re- 
called by his neighbor’s voice. 

“ How is your head this morning, Herr Scots- 
man ? ” asked the parson. 

Wyndham brought his hand to his head, and 
became aware that it was bandaged again. “ I 

174 


TEMPTED IN VAIN. 


ns 

knew not the old wound had opened,” he said ; 
“ but pray tell me how did I come here ? ” 

‘‘You were brought here last night by this 
troop of dragoons with five other soldiers, but you 
alone were insensible, and I thought you would 
die, you looked so pale; but we may thank the 
Lord now for His kindness in sparing you. I 
do not know you, but I feel a great interest in 
you.” 

Wyndham was about to reply when a soldier 
came up to them, touching his cap. He was a tall, 
well-made fellow with an honest face, upon which 
there reigned a somewhat wild and sad expression. 
He addressed Wyndham in English, and informed 
him that he had been sent by the quartermaster, 
and was glad to see him so much better. 

“ Do you think you’ll be able to ride a horse to- 
day ? ” he asked ; and on receiving a confirmative 
answer, continued : “ We have orders to take you 
both to head-quarters. I suppose,” he added, with 
simplicity, “ there’s something important about ye 
that the generalissimo wants to find out.” 

“ Indeed,” thought Harry, “ I am going to see 
Wallenstein too, then.” The recollection of what 
he had just lost brought him into a very sad and 
dejected mood, which could be chased away neither 


xy 6 THE maid of steals dad. 

by the parson’s attempt at conversation nor by the 
Irishman’s civility, who evidently looked upon 
Harry as a soldier of importance, as his dress and 
accoutrements — very much better and costlier than 
those of poorer officers of the same rank — did not 
contradict what the gypsy had prophesied. 

They had but little opportunity to converse, for 
after a hasty breakfast of coarse bread and beer, an 
officer commanded the men to mount ; and two 
horses having been brought for Harry and the 
parson, they were each surrounded by some dozen 
dragoons, and were soon on their way in a sharp 
trot to the camp of the generalissimo. 

The officer who commanded the little party rode 
for some time beside Wyndham, and began a con- 
versation with him about the war, the Swedes, 
Gustavus Adolphus, and other subjects, evidently 
desirous to draw him out. But Wyndham per- 
ceived the object and skilfully eluded the officer’s 
questions ; or, where that was not possible, either 
kept silent or gave a positive denial, so that in a 
little time his interrogator desisted and spoke to 
him no more during their journey. The country 
around bore evident signs of having afforded 
passage to an army. Deep furrows of wheels, 
every thing round about trampled and crushed 


TEMPTED IN VAIN 


1 77 


by men and beasts, and the fields shorn of what 
they contained, — such scenes, together with the 
recollection of his misfortunes, made the prisoner 
silent and thoughtful. 

They halted once for some refreshments at a 
half-burned village, but immediately proceeded in 
the same trot, which had been kept up now for 
about seven hours. The heat became intolerable ; 
the sun poured down its rays perpendicularly upon 
the men. The horses were blowing and began 
to stumble, for they were riding on a heath which 
was sloping upwards, and the dust was entering 
their throats and eyes, and caused general cough- 
ing. Suddenly, as they were approaching the ridge 
of the hill, they saw several heads rising above it, 
and a horseman approaching them at full speed. 
The officer commanded the troop to halt, and 
rode forward. After exchanging a few words with 
the new comer, he ordered Harry and the parson to 
follow him. The two prisoners d d ast ey we e bid 
and soon found themselves in the present of half 
a dozen officers magnificently dressed and mounted, 
and all directing their attention to a tall thin figure 
on horseback in their middle. Having glanced 
over the letter which the officer gave him, the tall 

man looked at our captain for some moments in 
12 


1 78 THE maid of stralsund. 

silence. “ When is the King of Sweden coming 
over ? ” he asked, in a short tone. 

“ I do not know that he is coming over, your 
excellency/’ answered Wyndham, concluding that 
he spoke to the generalissimo. 

“ Have you ever seen him ? ” 

“ Often.” 

“ Is he a great general in the field ? ” 

“ He is a great man everywhere,” answered 
Wyndham, undauntedly. 

Wallenstein frowned, and his eyes flashed with 
anger. There was something in them as they shone 
from under his bushy eyebrows that made one feel 
awe-struck. Wallenstein continued, — “ What rank 
have you in the Swedish army ? ” 

“ Captain,” answered Harry. 

“ Have you spoken with the king ? ” 

“ I have.” 

“ And with Oxenstierna ? ” 

“ Often.” 

“ What is the strength of his army ?” 

“ I do not know.” 

“ Take care,” said the generalissimo ; and again 
his eyes flashed. But Wyndham felt that he could 
give no other answer. 

“ Answer me this question and you will have 


TEMPTED IN VAIN. 


179 

cause to thank me ; or else, beware/’ continued Wal- 
lenstein. “ What is the strength of his regiments ? ” 

“ Your excellency,” said Wyndham in a modest 
but firm tone, “ your mind is too noble to require a 
true soldier to betray whatever secrets he knows 
of his master and king.” 

“ Answer my question, sirrah,” thundered the 
duke, “ and speak the truth, for your life. Once 
more, What is the strength of the Swedish regi- 
ments ? ” 

“ I do not know,” answered Harry calmly. “ It 
is some time since I left Sweden, and I hear that 
great alterations have taken place in the army, of 
which I know no details.” 

“ You lie, villain ! ” roared the duke ; and, raising 
the heavy riding-whip in his hand, he would have 
struck Wyndham a severe blow ; but the excitement 
and the day’s fatigue were too much for the young 
Scot’s nerves. He became giddy, the color left 
his cheeks, and he fell back in the arms of his 
guide. The duke eyed the insensible youth for a 
moment with a cold, cruel look, and turned his 
horse in the opposite direction. 

When Wyndham awoke out of his swoon, he 
found himself in bed in a small room and two men 
seated by his side, to whom apparently his recovery 


i 8 o THE maid of stralsund. 

gave much satisfaction. But great was his aston- 
ishment when he was accosted by one of them in 
English. 

“ You feel well now, I hope, Captain ? ” he said, 
with a broad grin. 

Harry thanked him, and said he felt much better. 

“ Well, ye ken,” said the other man, apparently 
a kind of surgeon, and decidedly a Scotchman, “ it 
was’na verra wise to talk till the duke in sic a fash- 
ion. Ony man would faint away after doing that.” 

Harry expressed his sorrow for having done any- 
thing wrong, and asked politely whether he might 
know with whom he had the honor of speaking. The 
officer then made himself known as Lieutenant- 
Colonel Gordon. The surgeon having withdrawn, 
he began to chat very pleasantly with his prisoner, 
who had in the meanwhile risen. He ordered re- 
freshments to be brought, and when a really sump- 
tuous repast made its appearance, Wyndham was 
not slow in doing it ample justice. It struck him, 
however, that Gordon pressed him rather too fre- 
quently to take wine. No doubt the quality of it 
was excellent, and the Scot seemed so glad to see 
a countryman, that it appeared almost natural. 
But he recollected the attempts of his custodian 
that morning. His suspicion having been once 


TEMPTED IN VAIN. 181 

aroused, he declined to take any more wine, and 
was very cautious in his answers. Ere long his 
suspicions became verified. After some vain at- 
tempts to lead him into a conversation about the 
state of affairs, Gordon began holding forth on the 
advantages, splendid prospects, and fine pay, — and 
indeed to judge by his costly dress his pay must 
have been very high, — speedy rise, and jolly life in 
Wallenstein’s army ; to all of which Harry listened 
with the greatest possible humor, for he knew what 
was coming, and had made up his mind long ago. 

At last Gordon came out with his offer, — Would 
he take service under Wallenstein ? He would 
get the command of a regiment at once, and the 
rank of lieutenant-colonel, with good pay. Harry 
refused at once and decidedly. Gordon tried 
everything in vain, and after an hour’s conversa- 
tion he left Harry in a towering passion. In the 
evening Gordon returned and renewed his attack, 
making even more tempting offers than before. But 
Wyndham found it now comparatively easy to re- 
fuse, and would at last give no an^ver. 

“ Well, sir,” said Gordon at last, angrily, “ if you 
refuse these offers, I warn you that it will go badly 
with you.” 

“ I cannot help that, colonel,” answered Harr.y, 


182 THE maid of stralsund. 

calmly. “ I know I would not have a moment’s 
rest if I should thus forsake my cause and my 
principles.” 

“ Pooh ! I thought so too, once ; but I found 
out that the victorious cause is the true one.” 

"Well, then, there is this difference between 
us,” said Harry, “ that I serve the King of Sweden 
because I admire him and love to further his 
cause ; and you, sir, I am afraid, serve the duke be- 
cause you admire and love yourself, and consider 
your own cause the only important one.” 

Gordon bit his lips on hearing words which later 
events proved to be strictly true,* and left the 
room in a rage, slamming the door behind him. 
The apartment in which he was lodged received its 
light through one window near the roof, and looked 
into another room. Consequently, as it soon became 
dark, he found it wise to go to bed again, and was 
soon in a peaceful slumber. He was awakened the 
next morning at the break of day by the same 
officer who had conveyed him to the camp, and 
who desired him in curt tones to rise, partake of some 

* Gordon was one of the principal actors in the sad tra- 
gedy of Wallenstein’s death. He, General Butler, and 
others, agreed to execute their benefactor for the sake of 
advancement and gain. 


TEMPTED IN VAIN 183 

food, and follow him. The repast of the previous 
day had been removed, and the coarse bread and 
beer of the camp substituted. The brief meal over, 
they soon arrived at what must have been the yard 
of the farm-house, where he found the same troop 
of men that had accompanied him the day before, 
amongst whom, to his inexpressible grief, he found 
the parson already mounted, and smiling and nod 
ding at him as if they were going on a pleasure trip. 

The farm-house was situated on the slope of the 
hill ; and as the troop issued out of the yard, the 
magnificent sight of the camp in the valley, stretch- 
ing along in the distance and colored by the rays of 
the rising sun, burst upon them. The white tents, 
the glittering arms, flags, guns, and horses, the dark 
heath, the rosy sky, — it was indeed a beautiful and 
imposing spectacle, at once so peaceful and so pure, 
and it required a strong imagination to realize that 
there lay the scourge, the curse of Germany. 

Leaving the camp on the right, the party set off 
at a sharp trot in a southern direction, and for 
three hours not a word was spoken, which, as the 
road went over barren heath and sand, was not to 
be wondered at. *\ 

At the first halt, however, after the men had par- 
taken of some beer or wine, they became more com 


184 THE maid of stkalsund . 

municative, and the greater the distance from the 
army became, the slacker did the officer hold the 
reins of discipline. Riding behind with the quar- 
termaster, he left the men to crack their jokes 
amongst themselves, which soon resulted in the 
two prisoners riding side by side. 

“ Let us be cheerful, my friend,” said the minis- 
ter, as soon as they were together ; “ we shall yet 
find a way out of these misfortunes.” 

“ I do not know about that,” said their acquaint- 
ance, the Irishman, who seemed to like their com- 
pany ; “ you are going to a place that is bad enough. 
Did you ever here of Templin ? ” 

Harry looked in bewilderment at the speaker, 
and a sudden terror smote him. The fearful things 
which he had heard of that place filled him with 
dismay ; and, almost breathless, he asked, “ Are we 
going thither ? ” 

The soldier nodded, and added in a sympa- 
thizing tone, “ Never mind, captain : it is not so 
bad as it looks. I have been in a prison of war half 
a dozen times, I think, and I rather like it for a 
change. Besides, you know, this war cannot last 
for ever.” 

“ That is but a poor consolation,” said the par- 
son ; “ I know a better one. I have read of one 


TEMPTED IN VAIN ig$ 

man who was locked up in as strong a prison as 
Templin, and chained to soldiers too, but he was 
helped out, notwithstanding all that.” 

“ Ah,” said the Irishman to Harry, in his native 
tongue, “ he’s talking of St. Patrick.” . 


CHAPTER XVIII. 


THE PRISON FORTRESS. 

J N the territory of Brandenburg, and on the bor- 
ders of Lake Templin, the sombre and massive 
walls of a strong castle rose abruptly out of the 
tranquil waters. Built upon a promontory, it was 
on all sides surrounded by the unfathomable lake, 
and the only means of access lay through the 
heavy iron doors, upon the fortification of which 
the architect had brought to bear all the resources 
of his profession. The space inclosed by the walls 
was laid out partly as kitchen-garden, partly as 
stoneyard, and each day of the monotonous year a 
troop of silent and listless men might be seen en- 
gaged in laborious work as they performed the 
duties of the common ploughman, or, what was 
worse still, the heavy task of breaking and quar- 
rying the stone that was to fortify their prison. 
Dispersed through the various groups were hard- 


186 


THE PRISON FOR TRESS. j_ 8 7 

featured and rough-handed overseers, whose ejac- 
ulations when inciting the prisoners to harder 
work, and the monotonous calls of the sentries, 
were the only sounds that broke the silence of that 
sombre abode. 

Somewhat livelier were the environs of the 
guard-house. There the soldiers not on duty 
amused themselves with cards, dice, and drink ; 
there oaths and blasphemy, levity and wantonness 
reigned supreme, and not a thought of pity was be- 
stowed on the unhappy objects of their care. The 
principal building, which was occupied by the 
dwellings of the officers of the garrison, the arsenal, 
the cells of the prisoners, and the sick rooms, was a 
large, square 'block, with a veranda running round 
it. Every point within the fortress might be seen 
at a glance from this elevated position ; and here 
the commander of Templin was at this moment 
pacing up and down, throwing ever and anon a 
searchin 1 look around him. 

It seemed that something disturbed him, for he 
turned frequently to that part of the veranda 
which was nearest the guard-house, and from which 
subdued sounds of merriment proceeded. At last, 
when a chorus of laughter reached his ears, he 
frowned, and in a sharp and irritated voice called 


!88 THE maid of stralsund. 

“ Carolo.” A young page appeared, and waited to 
be addressed. 

“ Go to the captain of the guard and ascertain 
what is the origin of the loud merriment I hear. 
Have I not told him frequently that I will not al- 
low brawls and drunken revelry within these 
walls ? ” 

The page sped on his errand and returned in 
haste, reporting that it was no drunkenness, but 
that Wanza, the gypsy, had again arrived with his 
goods, and that he was exposing them for sale to 
the soldiers. 

“ What ! Wanza here again ? ” said the com- 
mander of the fortress, stamping with his foot. 
“ Ha ! has he forgotten our promise last time ? We 
shall teach him to palm his forged goods on honest 
people, and to enter these walls against our express 
command. Have him brought hither, Carolo, and 
silence those loud-mouthed fools.” 

Carolo, expecting a good scene, flew to the 
guard-house, and ere long the gypsy was conducted 
between two soldiers to the commander, who met 
them at the entrance of the building. Had Wynd- 
ham been present he would have had no difficulty 
in recognizing the features of the fortune-teller who 
came so opportunely to his help in the camp. He 


THE PRISON FOR TRESS. 1 89 

assumed a look of great humility before the com- 
mander, but a cunning glance from under his eye-, 
lashes showed that he was tolerably at his ease. 

“ What now, impudent heathen ! ” said the com- 
mander frowning, “ you seem to have forgotten my 
command ; I therefore mean to teach you beyond 
the possibility of forgetting. You must leave this 
castle within an hour, but I will have both thine 
ears cut off to remind thee forever of that lesson, 

‘ Y6 that have ears, hear.’ What say you to 
that?” 

“ If such be my fate, your grace, I have nought 
to say,” answered the gypsy in humble tone. 

“ And know you not your own fate, most wise 
prophet,” said the commander in mocking tone, 
“ who profess to read other people’s ? ” 

“ We cannot read our own stars, and — ” 

“ Nor those of others. Lead him away.” 

“ One humble word, your grace. Have not my 
prophecies come true ? Did I not see two flames 
that first were one ? And when they separated, 
one grew bright and lucid, but was at last sudden- 
ly extinguished ; while the other became smaller 
and enveloped by a cloud, but ultimately brighten- 
ed and attained a greater brilliancy than the first. 
And how is this, your grace ? How is this ? 


THE MAID OF STRALSUND . 


190 

Where is the brighter flame ? Where is the bril- 
liant fire of his life ? 

The commander made a step forward and turned 
pale. His eyes fixed on those of the gypsy, he 
faltered, “ What say you there ? Is Salzbach then 
no more ? What of him ? Speak ! ” 

“ These ears have heard his last sigh, your grace, 
not more than three days ago ; he was shot in a 
duel with Count von Zoger, and thus is the flame 
extinguished all too soon. But beware, your grace, 
for now the cloud will envelop the second flame, 
and if not heeded, that will be extinguished too. 
Soldiers, lead me away; I have done my duty.” 

“ Stay,” said the commander, curtly ; and turn- 
ing to the soldiers and the page, “ Begone ! leave 
me alone with this man.” 

The officer then entered the building, and open- 
ing the door of a room motioned the gypsy to fol- 
low him. It was a richly-furnished apartment, 
hung round with tapestry. After having paced 
the room for some time, he paused before the 
vagabond, whose demeanor was if anything still 
more humble than hithertofore. 

“ Wanza, I have not much faith in thy prophe- 
cies ; but one thing has come true, and another, 
thou sayest, has just been fulfilled. Play not with 


THE PRISON FORTRESS. 


I 9 I 

me, or assuredly I shall make thy carcase game for 
the gallows. What is this cloud that is coming — 
that has come over me ? Explain, and thou art 
free.” 

A momentary flash of pleasure lit up the gypsy’s 
face ; but he shrugged his shoulders, and said in 
plaintive tones, “ Have mercy, your grace. I can- 
not command the mysterious powers that have 
been given me ; I can use them when they come — 
that is all. I may be able to explain, but promise 
me a free exit, else I would rather surrender at 
once than risk your anger by a failure.” 

“ Thou art safe ; but proceed,” said the com- 
mander, impatiently. 

The gypsy stepped to the large chimney, where a 
logwood fire was still smouldering. With a touch 
of his foot he stirred the blocks, and threw some- 
thing into the flame which made it shoot up and 
burn brightly. Then, having asked for some salt, 
he threw a handful of it in the flames, and gazed 
long and intently at mysterious figures described 
by the smoke. At last he turned round and seized 
the hand of the commander, who had watched him 
with suspended breath. 

“ You are right, your grace, the cloud has come ; 
the hour of danger, of watchfulness has arrived. 


THE MAID OF STRALSUND. 


192 

Your life is again mixed up with another’s. Is he 
harmed, then you must suffer; does he die, then so 
must you ; does he live, then so shall you. I see 
seven circles : those are seven years. During that 
time his life is your life, his body is your body, his 
health your health. And here,” pointing to his 
hand, “ I see a W ; that is his name.. His dress is 
foreign — it is that of a Scot. He is coming — I see 
him — ” he paused. 

Here the flame in the chimney shot up high 
and disappeared. The gypsy’s face, for a moment 
alive with a strange expression, assumed its ordinary 
look of cunning and humility. The commander 
gazed with grave looks at the glowing embers on 
the hearth, and became absorbed in deep thought. 
When he looked up from his reverie, the gypsy 
had left the .room and the castle. 


CHAPTER XIX. 


THE STRANGE PHYSICIAN. 

LTHOUGH the commander was superstitious, 



1 and put some faith in the gypsy’s words, it 
was still with considerable surprise that he received 
intelligence the same evening that two prisoners 
were to be brought to the castle ; and found on their 
arrival the next day that one of them was a for- 
eigner, a Scot, and that his name actually did com- 
mence with a W. Unacquainted with the peculiar 
circumstances which had inspired Wanza’s proph- 
ecy, he felt strangely attracted towards our hero. 
“ If it be true,” he mused, “ that his life, health and 
welfare are intimately connected with mine, then 
common prudence bids me take especial care of 
him.” And thus, to his great astonishment, instead 
of being led to a subterranean cell, or doomed to 
spend h's days in hard and unhealthy labor, Wynd- 
ham found himself reserved for the governor’s own 


13 


193 


THE MAID OF STRALSUND. 


194 

use. He was kept a prisoner, it is true, but with- 
out having to experience any great hardships. He 
slept in a good cell, he was fed from the governor’s 
own table, and his work in the day-time consisted 
in preparing those few records and books which the 
Imperial decree compelled that officer to keep. He 
was treated with the utmost deference, and the 
governor himself offered him the use of his library. 

It may be supposed that Harry, though entirely 
at a loss to comprehend the reason of this treat- 
ment, was nevertheless very thankful for it, and 
looked upon it as a special act of Providence. 

It would be both useless and tedious to follow 
Wyndham in his imprisonment. There was abso- 
lutely no variety in his life, there was no 
incident that would be worth while record- 
ing. News from the outside world there was 
none. Whether the Imperial forces had again 
surrounded Stralsund and been successful in 
subduing it ; whether those whom he loved 
were still alive and thinking of him ; or whether 
they had fallen by the cruel hand of war, — these 
and a thousand other questions started up in his 
busy brain, and tormented him each weary day. 
But when he glanced from his own condition to 
that of the other prisoners, and saw the signal 


THE STRANGE PHYSICIAN. 


J 95 

difference, he was deeply thankful and lost in won- 
der. The governor remained ever scrupulously 
anxious about his welfare. He would frequently 
enter into conversation with his prisoner, and make 
him tell the story of his life, which, as a sort of 
recompense, the latter was glad to give. He found 
his hearer very interested, but surprisingly super- 
stitious on certain points, especially as to the fact 
of there existing some mysterious connection be- 
tween them. Not knowing to what use this strange 
delusion might lead, he did not attempt to contro- 
vert it. The governor even supplied him with 
some English books which he had procured at a 
great cost, and had he dared he would have allowed 
him to roam at his ease over the whole castle. The 
strict discipline, however, limited even his power, 
and an hour each day in the square was all that was 
allowed him. Thus week succeeded week, and 
season followed season, till Wyndham counted two 
long years, and began to wonder whether he was 
doomed to spend the rest of his life in this seclu- 
sion. But help was near. 

One day a peculiar kind of epidemic broke out 
amongst the prisoners, and in a few cases proved 
fatal. As soon as this was reported to the governor 
he seemed in the greatest trouble. His anxiety in- 


196 the maid of stralsund. 

creased each day, and at last he resolved to send a 
messenger to the Imperial army, requesting a 
physician to be sent immediately. One afternoon 
in September, fully two years having now elapsed 
since his imprisonment, Wyndham sat in the little 
room he usually occupied when engaged in his work, 
when he became aware of an object passing be- 
tween him and the light. On looking up he saw 
on the verandah outside the window a tall form, 
wrapped in a long gown and covered with a strangely- 
fashioned hood. He had never seen the figure be- 
fore, and as the face was perfectly unknown to him, 
he conjectured that it must be the new physician 
arrived from the Imperial camp. But what was his 
astonishment when, on passing his window again, 
the strange visitor made a momentary pause and 
putting his fingers to a little hole in one of the 
many small panes of glass, threw a piece of crum- 
pled parchment into the room and disappeared. In 
an instant Harry had seized the parchment and 
read these words in English, “ The governor will 
visit you shortly. Feign illness.” 

These few words, with their strange suggestion, 
little as they told him, made his heart leap. His 
blood ran wildly through his veins, and his temples 
throbbed as he read the two short sentences over 


THE STRANGE PHYSICIAN. 


197 

and over again. Had he a friend in the castle, and 
that one of his own nation ? The door opened and 
the governor entered on his usual morning visit. 
At that moment Harry was sitting before the table, 
his face covered with his hands. As the governor 
entered he assumed his ordinary position, but he 
could not hide from the other’s watchful eyes his 
intense excitement. He trembled violently, there 
was an unusual color in his cheeks and a sparkle in 
his eye that might have deceived any one. 

“ You do not feel well, captain ?” said the gov- 
ernor, seizing the youth’s hand, his own trembling 
almost as much. “ We must get the physician to 
look at you ; ” and hastily he left the room, unaware 
how he had unconsciously helped the plan of which 
Harry knew only a small part. Presently Harry 
heard footsteps approaching the room, and the 
voice of the governor in earnest conversation. 
Then the door opened, and the strange figure once 
more stood before him. After frequent feeling of 
the pulse he recommended that the young man 
should be put to-bed in a quiet room. “ If possible,” 
he said, “ let it be on the basement, and if you 
have no objection, let me inspect the room.” 

The sound of the voice made Harry tremble ; and 
the whole of that day, until he was removed in the 


! 9 8 the maid of stralsund. 

evening to a cell at the bottom of the house, he 
puzzled his mind to recall where he had heard that 
voice before. But though the sound was perfectly 
familiar to him, he had no recollection of the face ; 
and the agony of suspense as he construed and 
wondered over the English words and over the 
sound of the voice would almost have been sufficient 
to work him into a fever. Exhausted at last by 
anxious listening, for it had grown totally dark in 
his room, he fell into a troubled slumber. 

He dreamt of Stralsund, of the happy days ere 
his great trouble came ^ver him. He dreamt that 
he stood once more on the rock on the little island, 
and was overlooking the Imperial camp, and that 
the gypsy stood by his side pointing out the various 
works, and that at last the gypsy said in a warn- 
ing voice, “ Haste thee and to work, for the 
time has come.” He awoke, and curiously the 
voice still sounded in his ear. The room was lit 
by a lamp, and by the side of his bed stood the 
physician. 

With a half-stifled cry Harry flew out of bed, 
and rushing to the mantled figure, almost embraced 
it, with the words, “ Joe Marks ! Joe Marks ! ” 

“ Hush ! ” whispered the gypsy, arresting the 
youth’s impetuosity. “ Do you want both of us to 


THE STRANGE RHYS/C/AN. 


*99 


be killed ? Say not another word, but listen. You 
have borne bravely hitherto.” 

Without utterance Harry seated himself on a 
chair, scarcely venturing to breathe. Then did 
the gipsy speak clear, concise, and hopeful words. 
The King of Sweden lay with a large army within 
three days’ march of the castle. His own friend 
Baverley was on his way to attack it with a consid- 
erable force, hoping to surprise it. “ I greatly fear, 
however,” he continued, “that the governor has 
been advised of it, and that when your friend arrives 
to-morrow he will find everything ready for his 
reception. We cannot therefore trust to this. 
Now listen to my plan ; one life is worth another. 
In procuring this disguise I have already incurred 
very great risk. If you do not obey me implicitly, 
therefore, my danger will have been incurred in 
vain. Here is a rope, bind me; change your upper 
garments for mine, gag me, and disguised in my 
robe, leave this building. On the southernmost 
angle of the outer wall you will find a sentry, whom 
I have drugged ; a rope ladder hangs down to the 
waterside, where a boat is in readiness. The night 
is dark ; all depends upon your agility and silence. 
Now, quickly.” 

Feeling that this was no moment for indecision. 


200 


THE MAID OF STRALSUND . 


Harry proceeded to bind the gypsy, who had 
already divested himself of his long robe and hood. 
For a moment he hesitated when leaving the room, 
doubting whether he was acting a noble part to 
leave his preserver in such a plight ; but an impa- 
tient movement of the latter put an end to his 
indecision, and closing the door softly, he wrapped 
the mantle round him and stole through the pas- 
sages. Luckily no one within the house obstructed 
the supposed physician, and in a few moments 
Harry breathed the air outside. It was perfectly 
dark, but he knew his way perfectly. The wall 
was gained, the sentry lay in a state of helpless 
torpor. Arming himself with the soldier's pistols 
and sword, he felt for the ladder. It was there. 
He descended, — his foot was in the boat, — he was 
free. 

But the time for action was not yet gone by. His 
flight might be discovered and a pursuit begun. He 
seized the oars with vigor, and each stroke separated 
him farther from the sombre mass that rose out of 
the water. Suddenly his boat came in violent con- 
tact with an object on the water, and he was thrown 
forward. Ere he could recover his position, he was 
seized, his mouth covered, and he himself dragged 
into another boat which was filled with men. 


THE STRANGE PHYSICIAN. 


201 


“ Who art thou, — friend or foe ? ” asked a rough 
voice, in German. 

“ An escaped prisoner.’* 

“ Hallo ! captain ! this comes handy,” said an- 
other voice, in English. “ What is thy name ?” 

It was William’s voice, — William’s honest, deep 
and clear voice, sending a thrill through his 


veins. 


CHAPTER XX. 


IN THE MEAN TIME 


S may be supposed, William’s boat was 



+ ^ not the only one on Lake Templin that 
night. Ere the two friends had disengaged them- 
selves from each others embrace, another boat, and 
another, came gliding up noiselessly, all filled with 
men armed to the teeth. No time was to be lost. 
With a sudden impulse Wyndham related in a few 
words how he had escaped, and how he found the 
sentry asleep. In a comparatively short time the 
wall was gained, and with a burning desire to set the 
other captives free, Wyndham led the way up the 
ladder, and found himself once more on the walls 
of the prison. 

The rest is soon told. The garrison, not expect- 
ing this attack, was taken entirely by surprise. 
After a short but sharp fight it was disarmed and the 
castle gained. But as they knew that assistance 


202 


IN THE MEAN TIME. 


203 


must without fail arrive from the nearest military 
post within a few hours, the prisoners were hastily 
liberated and armed, the garrison locked up in the 
cells, and the fortifications blown up. And when the 
sun rose the troop had again crossed the lake, and 
each horseman, with a liberated prisoner behind, 
was already on the road to the Swedish camp. 

“ And how ha veyou fared all these years ? ” asked 
Harry, riding behind his friend. 

“I have fared very well as regards the body,” 
answered William, “ a slight wound which I re- 
ceived in the taking of Stettin excepted. But I Have 
been in terrible anxiety over you,” he said, look- 
ing fondly at Harry, “ for I thought of nothing but 
your death, which I firmly expected to have taken 
place, having myself seen the cruelty of these mer- 
cenaries.” 

“ It would have taken place, like enough,” an- 
swered Harry, “ but for some unaccountable leniency 
on the part of the governor, who insisted upon 
treating me more like a guest than like a prisoner.” 
And he related to William what we know already. 
“ But,” he concluded, “ how did you come to 
know that I was here ? Is it true that the king has 
come over ? I can hardly believe it ; and yet of 
course it must be so.” 


2o4 


THE MAID OF STRALSUND. 


“ This would be the sixth time I have told you,” 
said William, smiling ; “but in order to satisfy your 
curiosity, I will tell you everything that has hap- 
pened, as far as I was present, or have been able to 
learn. Shortly after Wallenstein abandoned Stral- 
sund, the King of Denmark, who was much afraid 
of having his territory taken away from him alto- 
gether, made peace with the emperor and withdrew 
within his country. This you can fancy, made the 
Protestant Union weaker than ever. There were 
now two formidable Imperial armies in Germany ; 
Mansfeldt had died, the Duke of Brunswick was 
nowhere to be found, the King of Denmark had 
made peace, and, in fact, the Union had not a man 
to oppose to Wallenstein and Tilly. This the Catho- 
lics soon saw, and they then forced the emperor to 
sign the Edict of Restitution, whereby the Protes- 
tants were grievously wronged and oppressed. The 
latter immediately resolved to turn to Gustavus 
and request him to come over and help them. Now 
you know that there was already some misun- 
derstanding between the king and the emperor, 
for you recollect how the emperor sent troops 
under Conti to help the Poles against Gustavus. 
So the king resolved to come over and assist .the 
Protestants, and Sir Alexander Leslie received 


IN THE MEAN TIME . 


205 

orders in April of this year to take possession 
of Rugen. 

“ The island of Rugen was captured in a few 
days, except one very strong fortress. The old 
fellow, however, commenced battering it from land 
and sea, when suddenly the garrison made a sally. 
Leslie perceived that the smoke of our guns entered 
the fort and prevented those inside from seeing us, 
and so he ordered me to take two companies and 
rush in. Favored by the smoke, we got inside, and 
found hardly any one there. Then there was a 
tussle, I promise you, the garrison being hemmed in 
on both sides. But we soon made away with them, 
and I was placed inside the castle as custodian. In 
the end of June, one morning early, there lay 
the king’s fleet before us, and three boats were 
rowing ashore.* I knew the first figure that landed 
to be the king’s, even if I had not seen him do what 
he did. But when his suite, amongst whom I saw 
Lord Falkenberg, Count Thurn, Banner, Knip- 
hausen, Sir John Hepburn, and others, had landed, 
the king uncovered, and kneeling down on the sand, 
offered up thanks to God. Immediately afterwards 
he seized a spade and fell to digging a trench, and 

* Hagenbach, in his lectures, maintains that Gustavus 
landed on Usedom, an island on the Pommersche-Hoff. 


206 the maid of stralsund. 

got all those that were ashore to help him ; and 
being assisted each time by greater numbers of 
those who landed, a trench was soon thrown up and 
armed with cannon, so that in the evening the army 
was safely entrenched. 

“ I did not much like the idea of remaining 
in Rugen while the king was going to conquer Ger- 
many ; so I petitioned that I might exchange in 
Lord Reay’s regiment of horse, which request was 
granted. Some days afterwards the king landed 
all his forces on the island of Wollin, and having 
secured that and Usedom, he marched straight on to 
Stettin and encamped before the walls, from which 
a great number of spectators were looking down 
upon us, principally ladies. The king sent a mes- 
senger to the Duke of Pomerania, who was inside 
at that, time, summoning him to open the gates. 
The duke, who is an old man, came out in a 
carriage drawn by six magnificent horses, to request 
the town to remain neutral ; for you know he was 
afraid both of the king and of the emperor. ‘ No, 
no ! ’ says the king, ‘ he who is not with us is 
against us ; and you may be sure that we shall treat 
you better than Tilly or Pappenheim.’ Well, the duke 
did not like it at first, and spoke of a large garrison, 
and being able to defend the city. * Come, my lord 


IN THE MEAN TIME. 


207 

duke/ said the king, ‘ as to your garrison, if that is 
it/ pointing to the ladies on the wall, ‘ we’ll very 
soon make way with it.’ At which the duke laughed, 
and begged to be allowed to return to the city and 
consult his council. ‘ Certainly/ says the king, 
‘ allow me to give you an escort worthy of your 
station/ And as the coach returned, and the gates 
opened, he had three hundred soldiers marching in 
front of it, who quickly ran inside, mastered the 
gates and the garrison, ' and ere the duke knew 
it, the castle and the town were ours. 

“ Then the king divided his army into three 
parts : one part marched into Mecklenburgh ; 
another, which he himself commanded, went to 
Stralsund, taking possession of all the towns on 
the way ; and we were sent into Pomerania, 
whence we returned just in time to witness a 
disgraceful piece of treachery. There was a certain 
Quint in the army, a colonel of horse, who for 
some reason or other, having been sent on an 
expedition against the Imperial forces, went over to 
their side and allowed his men to be cut to pieces. 
This annoyed the king very much, and he declared 
that if ever he caught that Quint, or any of his 
friends or accomplices, they should be made an 
example of to the whole army. The king was now 


208 the maid of stralsund. 

encamped near Greiffenhagen, having made himself 
master of the whole of Mecklenburgh and Pomerania 
in about two months. About seven weeks ago he 
resolved to attack Conti, who was encamped on 
the bank of the Oder, thus cutting off from Stettin 
all supply by that river. But when we came upon 
the camp of Torquati Conti, we found it so strong 
and well defended that the king dared not attempt 
a storm, but took up a position not far from him. 
We could get all our provisions much more easily, 
of course, for the people here are so dead against 
the Imperialists that they murder them whenever 
they can. Besides, we pay ready money for all we 
get, and foraging parties are strictly prohibited. 

“ One day (a Wednesday evening) I was walking 
just outside the camp, all by myself in the dark, 
thinking about you, and hoping that some day you 
might be restored to us ; when I became conscious 
that I was being followed by a black figure which 
I could only just distinguish against the lights of the 
camp. Wherever I went it was sure to follow me ; 
and afraid lest, placing itself between^me and the 
camp, it might prevent me from entering, I ran 
towards the camp as fast as I could ; when, con- 
vinced that the mysterious figure was close upon 
me, I suddenly turned round, drew my sword, and 


I AT THE ME A AT TIME. 


209 


nearly ran up against it. In some inexplicable 
way, however, I was knocked off my legs, and the 
mysterious individual, who proved to be a youth of 
perhaps twenty years, was at my throat, whispering 
in German, i Hold thy tongue ; I’ll let thee go at 
once if thou'lt answer me one question. Canst 
thou take a letter from me to Lieutenant Baverley 
of the Scots Horse ? * 

“ Much astonished, as you will readily believe, I 
told him that I was that person, which he would 
not at first believe, until, having asked me whether 
I had lost a friend, I told him your name and 
disappearance. That seemed to satisfy him, for 
leaving a slip of paper in my hand, he was away in 
a moment. Arrived in my tent, I looked at the 
paper. It ran as follows : — ■ Sir, one good turn 
deserves another. Have the kindness to keep an 
eye on Captain Johan Baptista, who is a traitor, and 
I may be able to tell you something about your 
friend Harry Wyndham. You may find me (if you 
come quite alone), Saturday night, ten of the clock, 
on the same spot. — An Imperialist Friend/ 

“ I did not put much faith in the communication, 
but still resolved to watch Baptista, whom I knew 
to have been a friend of Quint’s. The next day 

nothing happened to awake my suspicion much, 
14 


210 


THE MAID OF STRALSUND . 


though I noticed that Baptista inquired particularly 
after the time at which worship was to be held on 
the following day, the king having on that day 
(Friday) ordered a general fast and prayer. On 
Friday morning I pleaded a headache to excuse 
me from church, and I followed Baptista closely 
without being observed by him. I saw him put 
nails into the touch- holes of many of the guns, which 
I took good care to take out again with the point 
of my knife. At last as he stood talking to a sentry 
and playing with his gun, he fired it under pretence 
of an accident. I knew very well that this was 
meant for a signal, so I ran up and ordered the 
sentry to beat the alarm. ‘ Do no such thing,’ says 
Baptista. ‘ Yes, do,’ said 1 , ‘and run and tell the 
king there is treachery here and with that I had 
Baptista down and was on the top of him, with the 
point of my sword at his throat. The sentry hung 
the drum round his neck and beat the alarm while 
running to where the service was being conducted ; 
and there was not much time to be lost either, for 
within half an hour we had 15,000 Imperialists 
down upon us. When the attack was beaten off, 
Baptista was summoned before a drumhead court- 
martial and hanged in the sight of the whole army. 
The next evening I again met the boy, and he told 


IN THE MEAN TIME. 


2 1 1 


me you were here, and that if I rowed to a little 
gate at the waterside and opened it with a petard, 
I should find but little resistance, — few knowing of 
the existence of this gate. I got permission to 
take three hundred horse with me and followed his 
advice. But whether we should have succeeded 
without your timely help is a matter of doubt, for 
we knew nothing of the inside of the prison ; and 
had we opened the gate with a petard we should 
not have been able to enter so quickly and 
silently as we did. But here we are in sight of the 
camp.” 

And truly, riding to the top of a hill, they saw 
the Oder at their feet, and by the side of it the 
Swedish camp. 


CHAPTER XXL 


THE KING. 

I T was about noon when the troop arrived in the 
Swedish camp. 

As soon as William had issued the necessary 
orders for the treatment of the liberated prisoners, 
he took Harry’s arm, saying, “Come along. I 
must at once introduce you to my chief, Lord 
Falkenberg, who will be glad to see you. I dare 
say he will present you to the king.” 

Harry had no objection to this course, as he 
knew Lord Falkenberg from former days ; and they 
were soon on their way to the village of Grimm, 
where the king and his staff had taken up their 
quarters. The marshal of the household was at 
that moment lodged in the second best house in 
the village, — the butcher’s shop, — in the best room 
of which he had installed himself, to the immense 
pride of its owner. The two young men entered ; 


THE KING . 


213 


the marshal was busily engaged with the papers 
with which the table was covered, for it was he who 
had been charged with the duty of providing for 
the king’s person and staff, and who was the con- 
fidant of the king’s most secret plans. It was one 
of his characteristics that he never forgot any one 
who had once been brought into his master’s pres- 
ence. He remembered the young Scot instantly, 
and rose to welcome him with extended hand. 

“ Do you know,” said he, “ that the king hath 
inquired after you, and desires to see you ? ” 

“ Surely, it is too much honor,” said Harry, “ to 
be thus noticed by the greatest king in Europe. I 
should think he must be busy with more important 
matters than the fate of poor captains.” 

“ Ah,” said Lord Falkenberg, smiling and shaking 
his head, “ it is just in this I think his genius most 
chiefly appears. He thinks of everything and 
everybody; and I do believe he looks upon his 
soldiers as his children. Very often in Poland, 
when the weather was bad and trying, he sent for 
me in the night and inquired whether I had looked 
to the men, and whether they were sufficiently 
sheltered ; though he often takes but indifferent 
lodgings himself, as you will see if you follow me.” 

As they issued into the street they found it full 


214 


THE MAID OF STRALSUND. 


of soldiers, for the guard regiments had just returned 
from skirmishing practice. The men made way 
respectfully for the three officers, and looked with 
some curiosity at Wyndham, whose history had 
somehow got known. The king was quartered in 
the chief place of the village, the council-house, inn, 
and seat of the magistrate, which dignitary was at 
the same time innkeeper. In a large but poorly 
furnished room, with a bright fire blazing in an im- 
mense chimney, a wooded floor covered with sand, 
and containing as articles of luxury a camp-chair 
and a writing-table near the fire, a man of middle 
stature was standing with his back to the door, in 
front of the fire. Harry’s heart beat violently, for he 
knew that figure to be the king’s, and many a time 
had he looked at it as it cheered the .soldiers in the 
hottest of a fight. As the door closed, the noise at- 
tracted the king’s attention, and he turned round 
sharply. He possessed undoubtedly a fine face ; 
his head was exceedingly well-shaped, and, if any- 
thing, small. An ample forehead, bright but kind 
eyes, and a firm determined mouth, the smile of 
which was all the more charming as it relieved a 
slight expression of severity which was apt to 
linger around it ; such were the features of Gustavus 
Adolphus. He wore his brown hair short, and his 


THE KING. 


2I 5 


beard pointed ; a broad flat collar ot white linen 
reached half way down his shoulders, and his 
doublet and hose were of plain dark silk. He had a 
paper in his hand in which he had been reading 
when he was interrupted by the entrance of Falken- 
berg and Harry. The marshal, when arrived in 
the middle of the • room, presented Harry to his 
majesty, who vouchsafed him a kind nod. 

“ Why, sir captain ! we thought you had taken 
service with the emperor,” said he, kindly. 

“ Not as long as this arm .is able to lift a sword 
for your majesty,” answered Harry. 

“ And how did you find the Imperial camp ? Was 
there as much drunkenness as is reported ? ” asked 
the king. 

Wyndham modestly described some of the scenes 
he had witnessed, and mentioned his interview with 
Wallenstein. The king grew curious and sitting 
down in his chair, desired him to describe Wallen- 
stein fully; which he did to the best of his mem- 
ory, mentioning Wallenstein’s question about the 
strength of his regiments. 

“ And did he ask nothing about me ? ” said 
the king. 

“ He asked whether I thought your majesty 
great in the field,” said Wyndham. 


2 1 6 THE maid of stralsund 

“ And what did you answer ? ” 

“ I answered that I thought your majesty to be 
great everywhere.” 

The king and Falkenberg both laughed, and 
seemed to enjoy the answer as a joke. 

“ I have just received a despatch from Brahe,” 
said the king to Falkenberg, “ and Leslie seems to 
think that some attack may be ventured upon Ros- 
tock, which is now the only town the Imperialists 
hold in Mecklenburg. What do you think ? ” 
w I think it might be tried,” said Falkenberg; 
and added musingly, “ it would greatly please our 
friend Oxenstierna if he could once more enter the 
town where he studied a quarter oLa century ago.’ 

“ Yes,” said the king, “ and we hope to get Jena 
and Wittenberg too.” Then turning to Harry, who 
had stepped back, he said, slily, “ You have some 
friends in Stralsund, captain, have you not ? ” 
Harry colored, and muttered that he had. 

“ Would you like to take our despatch there ? ” 
he asked, laughing ; and when he saw the response 
in Harry’s beaming face, continued : “ A captain 
without men is no captain. My lord, can you not 
give him a company of horse ? Do ; and let him be 
ready at five this evening to take my despatch to 
Stralsund. Till then, good-bye.” 


THE KING. 


217 

Harry sank upon one knee, overpowered by so 
much kindness, and reverently kissed the hand 
which the king held out to him. Punctually at the 
appointed hour he was again admitted into the king’s 
presence, and received from his own hand the des- 
patch to Leslie. He had in the meantime received 
the command of a troop of horse, though a request 
to have William with him could not at that moment 
be granted, as William was in immediate attendance 
upon Falkenberg. Full of spirits, therefore, Harry 
at the head of his men, rode out of the camp in the 
direction of Stralsund. 

Various thoughts occupied him as he went along. 
He had been saved from a great danger. He was 
going back to see those whom he loved, and he 
would do all in his power to indemnify them for the 
grief which he had caused them. And there was 
not a little bitterness mixed up with this feeling as 
he thought how he had been the cause of so much 
pain, and that, perhaps, he had done evil which 
could not be again made good. As he thought of 
this, — that possibly Helena had received an injury 
for life, or that the pastor had died in consequence 
of his daughter’s grief, he trembled, and would 
have spurred his horse to fly all the way had not 
his troop detained him. He knew that Helena 


2 i 8 the maid of stralsund. 

had been ill. Had she died ? or was she, perhaps, 
married to some one else ? They had written no 
letter, and held no communication with William 
since his departure. Surely, if some such catas- 
trophe had not happened, they would have writ- 
ten once at least. Such and such-like were his 
thoughts : sometimes hope having the ascendancy, 
sometimes doubt, till a sudden event chased all 
these dreams out of his head. 

They were going through a somewhat hilly and 
undulating country, and he had taken the precau- 
tion to send out an advanced guard, who recon- 
noitred the road. As they were entering a little 
forest leading up to a hill, these came riding back 
with the intelligence that a troop of Imperial horse, 
somewhat stronger than they, were approaching 
them. Harry immediately resolved upon a strat- 
agem. He ranged his men on each side of the 
road in the forest so that they could not be seen, 
and ordered a dozen to turn tail and travel down 
the hill, as if flying away from the enemy. The 
result proved that he was quite right in his sur- 
mise. In a little time the Imperialist troop reached 
the top of the hill, and observing the dozen flying 
from them, the commanding officer ordered half of 
his men to pursue th.m, who presently came gal- 


THE KING . 


219 


loping past Harry and his troop in full pursuit. 
Not long afterwards the other half appeared in a 
gentle trot, and was in a trice surrounded. 

A sharp combat then began. The Swedish 
cavalry with their heavy horses were more than a 
match for the Croats, whose small animals and light 
armament were more suited to a running encoun- 
ter. Still they fought with the courage of despair 
and broke the line around them in several places. 
At one spot, however, the fight raged hotly. The 
officer in charge having assembled the bravest 
around him, with a stern determination to fight 
against any odds, held out against the ever-increas- 
ing number of his opponents ; the men about him 
were giving way, unable to resist the fury of the 
Swedes ; and one giant was already lifting up his 
sword to deal the officer a death-blow, when Harry 
spurred his horse, and beating the sword aside, 
cried in a voice of thunder, “Hold! no murder ! ” 
Then, turning to the officer, he said, “You are my 
prisoner.” 

The officer, who had expected the blow without 
flinching, cast a look of gratitude at the speaker, 
and handed over his sword. But when he saw 
Harry’s face, he turned deadly pale, started i-n his 
saddle, and brought his hands to his eyes. At this 


220 


THE MAID OF STRALSUND. 


moment Harry noticed a commotion amongst his 
men, and looking round saw the other half, of the 
Croats and those who had escaped galloping to the 
rescue, with their lances pointed at the Swedes. 

Before he had time to rally his men, the Croats 
were down amongst them with that swiftness and 
fury which render their charge one of the most 
irresistible in the world. Ere they had been fight- 
ing many minutes, they had rescued all their com- 
rades, except those whose wounds prevented them 
from remaining in the saddle, and were flying in 
all directions pursued by the Swedes. 

As Harry that evening went to rest in the 
village where he had taken up his quarters, he said 
to himself, “ Where have I seen the face of that 
officer before ? I know it well ; but whose is it ? ” 


CHAPTER XXII. 

BACK IN STRALSUND. 

I T was with a beating heart that Wyndham rode 
through the well-known Franken Gate on to 
the quay of Stralsund. Two years and a half had 
well-nigh elapsed since he left it. Many things 
had happened since then which had exercised a 
great influence upon his life. The appearance of 
the city was totally different from that of former 
days. It was then bright summer weather, and 
the sunbeams played upon the waves of the sea ; 
the birds sang in the trees, and though their song 
was often interrupted by the report of the firearms, 
nature around was. green and lovely. Now, a cold 
blast of north wind chilled him to the very bone, — 
everything he passed, as if prophetic of his recep- 
tion, looked cold, dead, uninviting. The birds had 
long flown to a warmer climate, the sun was hid 
behind black clouds, and the sea, like a mass of 


* 


222 


THE MAID OF S TRALSUND. 


lead, looked so gloomy, that he involuntarily felt 
as if his visit to the town would bring him but 
little good. When arrived at the Town Hall, he 
heard to his disappointment that the governor was 
not at that moment in town, and he had gone over 
to the island of Rugen, but would shortly return. 
Hardly allowing himself time to see to the quarter- 
ing of his men, and to respond to the hearty con- 
gratulations of some of his old comrades, he hur- 
ried away to the Franken-Strasse, and eagerly 
approached the house where he had^ spent the 
happiest moments of his life. 

How well did he remember the shop at the 
corner of the street, and the houses of the neigh- 
bors ; the very stones seemed known to him. 
The knock which he gave sounded at once familiar 
and melancholy ; there was no response, the noise 
echoed loudly and mournfully through the house. 

“ Come,” thought he, “ I must not begin to think 
the worst at once. That old servant was always 
slow in opening the door. I shall knock again, 
and if they do not open, I know a way to get into 
the garden.” 

Accordingly, he knocked again, and heard steps 
coming to the door. Certainly they were not the 
steps of the old servant, nor those of any of the 


BACK IN STRALSUND . 


223 


family ; but they might have taken a new servant. 
The middle-aged woman who appeared in answer 
to his summons, attired in somewhat showy but 
slovenly dress, certainly was a total stranger ; and 
Harry’s heart sank within him, for he knew that 
Helena would never have allowed any one in her 
house to be so untidy. 

“ Is Pastor Hermann at home ? ” he asked in a 
faltering voice. 

“ Pastor — who ? ” 

‘ Pastor Hermann,” replied Harry. 

“ I know not Pastor Hermann,” said the woman ; 
“ who is he ? ” 

“ He lived here at one time, — some two years 
since,” said Harry, almost choking. 

“ Oh, ay, yes ; I remember now. That was the 
1 Calvinist who had to go away ; and a good job, too. 
I know naught about him.” 

“ But stay, my good woman,” said Harry, gently 
preventing her from closing the door, “ I am greatly 
interested in his whereabouts. If you could help 
me — ” 

“ I tell you again that I know nothing, and I will 
know nothing, of that Calvinist, that heretic, that 
wicked man.” 

Harry heard no more. He went out into the 


224 


THE MAID OF STRALSUND. 


street, scarcely knowing whither to turn. He 
walked slowly away, along the road which he had 
so often walked by her side, but scarcely noticed it, 
for his mind was overwhelmed with sadness, and 
there was no one to console him. 

Sir Alexander Leslie had returned from Rugen, 
whither he had gone to inspect the garrison, and 
was awaiting the king’s messenger in his room. 
He was seated in his official chair, before a table 
covered with papers and maps, and by his side sat 
an adjutant. When Harry entered, his face wore 
a grave and dignified expression befitting his high 
station ; but when he saw Wyndham, a broad smile 
lit up his features, and relinquishing all his official 
dignity, he started from his chair to meet the 
youth, and grasping his hand warmly, clapped him 
on the back several times in his rough, homely old 
way, and went so remarkably near to a hug that 
the adjutant thought he had better look the other 
way. Harry was quite moved by the general’s 
cordiality, and told his story as shortly as possible, 
for he longed to ask another question which was 
burning on his lips. 

“ Oh,” said Leslie, who had returned to his seat 
and had listened attentively, “ you may be very 
thankful, Wyndham. I am surprised that they 


BACK IN STRALSUND. 


225 

have dealt with you so very leniently. Are you 
sure they did not skin you ? ” 

“They must have done it very quietly,” said 
Harry with a smile, “ for I am not aware of it.” 

“ Mercy on us,” said the general musingly, and 
passing his hand gently over Wyndham's back ; 
“ I thought Wallenstein skinned all his prisoners. 
Are you sure not ? Mercy on us, — ye ought to be 
thankful ! ” 

“ I am thankful, general,” said Harry. “ But 
here is the despatch of his majesty the king. Will 
you be pleased to read it ? ” 

The general, who had risen from the ranks and 
could not read, took the despatch upside down, and 
looking at it unconcernedly, said to Harry, “You 
will find a good many things in this city altered 
since you left.” 

“It is just what I would ask you,” said Harry. 
“To my great sorrow, I find that Pastor Hermann 
has left his old house and, I fear, the city. But 
can you tell me what has become of him, as I am 
deeply interested in his lot ? ” 

“ Oh ! the Calvinistic minister that was here ! 
Ay, I remember him very well. Right good ser- 
mons he used to give us ; and I used to love a talk 
with the old man. But somehow his congregation 
*5 


2 26 THE MAID OF STRALSf/JVD. 

fell off. Probably because this is not a very favor- 
able town for his creed. The people gradually 
dropped off ; and when first your friend William 
Baverley had to go, and then Wechter, — who, by 
the bye, is* as wise and thoughtful an old soldier as 
I have had the pleasure to meet, — and there was 
hardly any one left, the pastor went too.” 

Harry sighed, and was silent for some moments. 
At last he said : “ Herr Wechter gone too ? How 
was it that he went ? And do you know whither 
the pastor has gone ?” 

“ No, not I. The fact is, he was advised to go 
somewhere by Wechter before he left the town. 
They spoke of Halberstadt, and even of Switzerland, 
but where he has really gone I cannot say. Prob- 
ably Wechter could, but even he is not here now.” 

“ But at least you can tell me where he is ? ” 
asked Harry eagerly. 

Leslie shook his head. “ He must be either in 
Sweden, in Poland or somewhere hereabouts. He 
was so saddened by the death of his wife, that he 
resolved to accept the invitation of his old friend 
Oxenstierna, and sailed for Sweden nearly six 
months ago:” 

"The death of his wife,” repeated Harry, "and 
the loss of his son ! ” the tone in which he said 


BACK IN STRALSUND. 


227 

these last words was so deeply mournful that the 
general looked at him with pity. 

Full of sorrow, Harry left the city the next day, 
after having convinced himself that no trace of the 
Hermann family could be discovered. The only 
man who would be able to tell whether Helena was 
yet in the land of the living was Herr Wechter ; and 
to search for him was a tedious and difficult under- 
taking, of which the result was at best but dubious. 

Having received a warning from the late skir- 
mish, Harry proceeded on his way back but slowly. 
When he arrived at the camp, after having deliv- 
ered Leslie’s despatch to Lord Falkenberg, he went 
to seek his friend Baverley, and found him inside 
his tent. 

“ Good news ! ” he said joyfully, as Harry en- 
tered ; “ now I hope that we shall at last get 
somebody to cope with.” 

“ What good news is that ? ” asked Harry, quietly 
seating himself. 

“ Why, Torquato Conti has resigned the com- 
mand, and Tilly is again appointed generalissimo. 
He has already assembled an army, and is marching 
hither as fast as he can ; so we shall have plenty 
of work anon. But how are you so silent ? Is 
anything amiss with Helena ? ” 


228 THE maid of stralsund. 

Harry told his story in a few words. Both 
friends were silent for some moments. 

“ The only thing we can do is to wait. I am 
certain Herr Wechter is not in the army yet, 
for then I must have heard from him. Methinks 
he is in Sweden, assisting the chancellor, with 
whom he studied at Rostock, and under whom he 
afterwards served both as soldier and as counsel- 
lor. We have frequently spoken of him, and he 
has as warm an admiration for Oxenstierna as we 
have.” 

“ And to write to him, I suppose, would be of 
little use ? ” said Harry. 

“ We may try,” answered William ; “ he is very 
kind-hearted, and will do all he can to help you. If 
he knows where they are, depend upon it you 
will know, too. But what is this the soldiers are 
cheering at so ? It is not the king, surely ? ” 

Both lifted up the curtain of their tent, which 
they had dropped for the sake of privacy, and saw 
three officers, apparently of high rank, riding at 
walking pace through the camp and past the various 
groups of soldiers towards the king’s tent. 

“ I know the one on the right hand and the one 
on the left,” said William ; “ but I never saw the 
middle one before. What a fine-looking soldier he 


BACK IN STRALSUND. 


229 


is, to be sure ! How well he sits on his beautiful 
horse ! I fancy he must be a great man.” 

“ Who is the right-hand one ? ” asked Harry ! 
“ I know the other is Gustavus Horn, our old com- 
mander in Poland. But the other, — What ? No ; 
it can’t be ! And yet — ” 

“ Yes, Harry,” said William, laughing, and happy 
that his thought had been turned into a different 
direction, “it’s Bafiner with a beard. I did not 
recognize him at first ; but when you come a little 
closer and watch his eyes, — and especially when 
you hear his voice, — you see at once that it is the 
brave old boy. You know, one day, when storming 
a battery at the head of his men, he mounted it first 
and waved his men to come on, which they did but 
slowly. They said they had no idea ‘ Father 
Banner ’ was there, for as all his men wore short 
peaked beards, they were so much alike you could 
hardly tell them from each other. Well, from that 
moment, no longer to confuse his children, he has 
let his beard grow freely, though he does not allow 
any one else to do it. See how popular he is ! ” 
Yes,” said a veteran who stood close by them ; 
“but it’s the middle one that the real cheering is 
for. He’s the man that is, or ought to be, most 
popular.” 


230 


THE MAID OF STRALSUND. 


“ Who is it ? ” asked Harry and William, in one 
breath. 

“ Count Matthias von Thurn,” said the veteran 
with dignity, as if the honor which that name had 
won during the long years in which it had been on 
men’s lips were part and parcel of himself. 

“ Oh ! ” said Harry eagerly ; “ is this Count 
Thurn ? I am so glad to see him at last Do you 
know him ! ” 

“ Know him ! ” said the veteran, looking con- 
temptuously at Harry ; “ know him, indeed ! I have 
served under that man the greatest part of my life, 
ever since I was a little boy, in his household at 
Prague, more than thirty years ago now. Know 
him, indeed ! I should hope so.” 

“ I have heard,” said William, “ that his life has 
been exceedingly eventful.” 

“ Eventful ! ” repeated the officer, with another 
look of contempt ; “ eventful is not the word. It’s 
marvellous ! My father, I am proud to own, was 
one of his dependants, and the count resolved to 
take me into his household as page. I first went 
with him to the war with the Turks, and against 
Bethlem Gabor, in Hungary. That was the be- 
ginning of my adventures with him, and I have 
known hiVn do many wonderful things since. I 


BACK IN STRALSUND . 


231 


must go now to pay him my respects. Good even- 

• „ >> 
mg. 

When the old soldier had gone, William said, 
musingly, — “Yes, that man has undoubtedly done 
great things ; and yet he has met with very little 
success in all his undertakings ! ” 

“ It does seem strange,” said Harry ; “ a general 
of the empire, the man who saved Vienna from the 
Turks, the greatest noble in Bohemia, the leader of 
a successful insurrection, who marched his insur- 
gents to the walls of the capital; and has yet 
achieved nothing, and is trusted by no one. He is, 
I should think, incapable of living and fighting for 
a great idea, and is only useful under a leader like 
the king.” 


CHAPTER XXIII. 

BAD NEWS. 

'TH'HE winter had now set in with great severity, 
^ and but for the king’s excellent arrangements 
would have been very trying for his army, especially 
for that part of it which was not so accustomed to 
the hard winters of Sweden as the inhabitants of 
that country themselves. He had provided every 
one of his soldiers with a sheepskin, which together 
with the warm tents and good food with which he 
took care to supply them, greatly softened the 
hardships of the climate. The Imperialist soldiers, 
who were neither so hardy nor so well provided fon 
suffered dreadfully ; the more because they had to 
get all their provisions by main force, and often 
found the resistance of the exasperated burghers 
or laborers more fatal than a mere squabble. 
Moreover, the latter were everywhere helped and 
encouraged in their resistance by the king, who paid 

233 


BAD NEWS. 


233 


for every pennyworth he consumed. The former’s 
request for a cessation of hostilities as long as the 
winter lasted, was answered by Gustavus with the 
words, “ My soldiers have been taught to fight 
whenever there is an enemy, — in winter as well as 
in .summer.” And fight they did. Daily skirmishes 
and surprises, in which the Imperialists were in- 
variably worsted, kept the soldiers of the king’s 
army in high spirits, and made them long for the 
summer, in which they could meet their enemy 
more openly. 

One day in the end of February, 1631, Harry 
was walking alone through the streets of the little 
town of Schwedt, where the king had pitched his 
camp at that time. He was in a melancholy mood, 
and his thoughts returned with increased force to 
her whom he had lost. William, who had been 
ordered to superintend a convoy of cattle from the 
neighboring town of Colberg, had been away for 
some days, and finding himself quite alone, the 
sorrow which the busy life of the army had hither- 
to somewhat kept down, mastered him altogether. 
With his head bent he walked slowly along, heed- 
ing nothing around him. 

Suddenly the sound of trumpets and the tramp- 
ling of horses fell upon his ear. He looked up, and 


234 


THE MAID OF STEALS CAD. 


saw advancing upon him a body of cavalry headed 
by two trumpeters. Thinking that this was only 
one of the usual troops coming to relieve guard, he 
stepped aside to let them pass ; but what was his 
astonishment when, five or six ranks having passed 
him, one" solitary horseman followed, dressed in a 
costume denoting both civil and military rank, and 
giving him as much the appearance of a clergyman 
as of a soldier. He wore a breastplate, there were 
pistols in his saddle, and a sword by his side ; but 
his armor was covered with a mantle of black 
cloth, and his head with a cap of the same mate- 
rial. Harry required no second glance at the pen- 
sive and somewhat stern features to recognize the 
great Swedish chancellor, Axel Oxenstierna, and 
the salute which he made called forth a very agree- 
able smile upon the statesman’s open and noble 
face. While still gazing, he started, and was 
scarcely able to return the nod of cordial wel- 
come which he received from an elderly man whose 
face and grey locks had often been before him as 
he thought of his past life. It was Herr Wechter. 

Scarcely knowing what he did, Harry, slowly 
followed the troop as it wound through the narrow 
crooked street and halted on the square where the 
king resided in the town-house. When he arrived. 


BAD NEWS . 


235 


the chancellor and his suite had already dismounted 
and entered. Judging that they would remain 
inside some time, he turned back, disappointed at 
not having been able at once to speak to Herr 
Wechter ere another day, another hour, might 
perhaps once more separate them, and possibly for 
ever. His thoughts were disturbed by a dragoon 
who came riding after him, and who informed him 
that he was wanted. He turned round, and there, 
walking towards him with a face full of cordial wel- 
come, was the man whom he most desired to see. 

“We thought that Captain Wyndham was no 
longer amongst the living,” said old Wechter, 
pressing his hand tenderly. “ We had abandoned 
all hopes of seeing thy ^ace again. What strange 
circumstance brings thee hither, my friend ? ” 

Wyndham told the story of his delivery, and the 
strange manner in which he had been treated at 
the castle. Most of the prisoners whom they had 
liberated had either returned home or entered the 
king’s army ; but there were not a few whom the 
many years of suffering and hard labor had re- 
duced to such a state of incompetency that they 
were lost to this world and its duties. And then 
he told the old man of his visit to Stralsund, the 
bitter disappointment that awaited him there, and 


236 THE maid of stralsund . 

the sorrow that oppressed him now each day as 
to the whereabouts of Helena, whom he could 
not but consider in danger as long as he was not 
near her. 

“ I know you are the only man able to relieve 
my anguish. Know you anything of them, and how 
they are ? ” 

“ Yes/’ answered Herr Wechter, somewhat 
sadly. “ After it had pleased God to take away 
my dear wife, and leave me alone in the world, I 
though it wiser to accept the invitations of an old 
friend of mine in Stockholm, who assured me that 
my services would be very acceptable to the Swedish 
court. At the same time Pastor Hermann ac- 
quainted me with his intention to leave the town 
for a more southern one. He feared that the climate 
would prove too severe for his child, who, moreover, 
would be benefited by a change of scene which 
would turn her thoughts into another direction, and 
efface the sad recollections which preyed upon her. 
At first I endeavored to procure him a place in 
Switzerland, where both the climate and the scenery 
would exactly meet his wishes. But this was not 
to be. After some trouble I found out that a large 
Calvinistic congregation was in want of a pastor in 
the town of Magdeburg, and — ” 


BAD NEWS. 


2 37 

“Magdeburg?” repeated Harry, with some ter- 
ror in his voice ; “ Magdeburg ? ” 

“Yes,” answered Herr Wechter, astonished at 
his vehemence ; “ the climate certainly is not so 
severe there as in Stralsund ; and moreover — ” 

“But do you know,” gasped Harry, “that the 
town is threatened with a siege by Tilly, and that a 
messenger arrived here two days ago, praying the 
King for assistance ? ” 

“Tilly!” said Wechter, “I thought he lay in 
Frankfort. Besides, Magdeburg is a bishopric, and 
has nothing to fear from the Imperialists.” 

“ Ah ! but Christian William, the administrator, 
has taken the thing into his own hands,” answered 
Harry. “ He has got a vote of confidence from 
the town, collected troops, and begun a warfare on 
his own account. He has driven the Imperial gar- 
rison out of several places in the neighborhood ; 
and now that Tilly, who has left Frankfort and has 
sent Pappenheim already before him, is approach- 
ing, the administrator withdraws his troops again 
into the town, and finding himself too weak to sus- 
tain a siege, he has sent a messenger here praying 
for help. Are you sure they are there ? Oh ! say 
4 No.’ ” 

This, however, Herr Wechter could not do. He 


238 THE maid of stralsund. 

was but too sure that they were in the town, as he 
had not long since received a letter from them. 
The only thing he could do, therefore, was to en- 
deavor to put Harry’s fears at rest ; but the latter 
knew too well how great the danger was, if the city 
were threatened with all the cruelties of the Imperial 
army. For, not long since, a detachment of Swedes 
having been sent to a certain post, it was attacked 
by a much larger number of Imperialists. They 
made a valiant resistance ; but at last, overcome by 
sheer numbers, they were killed in cold blood, only 
one unhappy fugitive, who died soon after, having 
escaped to tell the mournful tale. 

“ Thank you, Herr Wechter,” said Harry, press- 
ing his hand, with a faint smile. “ I dare say it is 
foolish of me to fear much for Helena; but you 
know I have seen quite enough of Imperial honor 
to make me tremble. I shall go to Lord Falken- 
burg and ask him what I can do.” 

Not long after, he was admitted into the presence 
of Falkenberg, who was pacing up and down the 
room with a grave face. He scarcely returned 
Harry’s salute, and remained some moments in 
deep thought. At last he looked up, as if to ask 
Harry what he desired. 

“ My lord,” said Harry respectfully, “ I wish to 


BAD NEWS. 


239 


ask but one question. Is Magdeburg in danger ? ” 

“ In great danger,” answered the marshal. 
“ Why do you ask ? ” 

“ Because,” said Harry, boldly, 48 if it is I must 
go and help in its defence.” 

“ Your help would be of little use,” said the 
General, somewhat coldly. 

“ Ah ! my lord,” said Harry, speaking rapidly, 
“ if you had dear intimate friends there, the very 
thought of whose danger would make you tremble, 
would you not fly to their defence and prefer dying 
by their side and for them, to living and mourning 
their loss ? I shall go to the King ; I know he 
will not refuse me permission.” 

“ Stay ! ” said Falkenberg, stretching out his 
hand and smiling slightly at the young man's im- 
petuosity ; “ you need not go to the King. Would 
you have any objection to take me with you to 
Magdeburg ? ” 

Harry looked at him in astonishment, and could 
not understand his question. 

“This morning,” continued Falkenberg, “I re- 
ceived orders from the King to take one regiment 
of foot and hasten to the defence of Magdeburg. I 
have just arranged my earthly matters, for it is pos- 
sible that I may never return. I have asked par- 


2 40 


THE MAID OF STRALSUND. 


don of all whom I have offended, and pardoned all 
who have offended me ; and I recommend you to 
do the same, — at least, if you desire to stand well 
with God and your fellow-men. Is it your earnest 
desire to go to Magdeburg ? ” 

“ It is,” answered Harry. The solemn and pious 
tone of Falkenberg had moved him. 

‘‘Then be ready to-night; we start at dusk. To- 
morrow the King breaks up his camp here and 
marches to Konigsberg and to Frankfort. So fare- 
well for the present.” 

That evening Harry was on his way to Magde- 
burg with the troops over which Falkenberg had 
the command. 


CHAPTER XXIV. 


THE COUNCIL OF WAR. 

HE city of Magdeburg, situated on the left 



bank of the Elbe, is still considered one of 
the wealthiest and most flourishing towns in Ger- 
many. In the year 1631 its prosperity was com- 
paratively greater. It had no great competitors ; 
the industry and influence which now it shares 
with a dozen other towns since sprung up, were 
then its solitary and undisputed possession. It 
was the capital of a bishopric. Its citizens enjoyed 
a greater amount of freedom than those of almost 
any other town in Germany, and its favorable 
position on the Elbe made its commerce eminent 
indeed. It is one of the most ancient towns of the 
empire, and at the time of our story it was but too 
apparent, by the irregularity of the architecture, 
that its growth had been the work of ages. It con- 
sisted of two parts, the old city and the new. Both 


242 


THE MAID OF STRALSUND. 


had the form of an irregular square, while the old 
city was connected with the opposite bank of the 
Elbe by a ship bridge, supported in the middle of 
the river by a small island. The town was strongly 
fortified, and surrounded by ditches; and so well 
had its defences been planned, that it was, and in- 
deed is now, reckoned to be all but impregnable. 

Such, at least, did General Tilly find it. In the 
latter part of February of the year 1631, he had 
surrounded the city on the land side, erected bat- 
teries on the other side of the water, and had so 
effectually cut off all communications, that not a 
person could approach the city even by the river 
without imminent risk of life. But though he had 
inclosed the town, though after the first fortnight 
all the outworks had been carried and destroyed, 
and although his guns were now playing upon the 
walls, the siege had lasted nearly three months, and 
he saw himself no nearer a surrender than before. 
A general assault he dared not venture upon, for 
the walls were high, and not a single breach had 
yet been made. Moreover, the report ran that 
Gustavus Adolphus was marching to the rescue, 
and to starve the city into surrender before that 
he knew was impossible. He had already stopped 
his fire, and withdrew part of his troops, when, on 


THE COUNCIL OF WAR . 


243 


the evening of the 9th of May, he called a council 
of war of the principal officers of his army, as he 
was unwilling to trust his own judgment in so diffi- 
cult a matter. Let us enter the house where the 
officers are assembled. 

It was an old-fashioned country seat, on the 
other side of the Elbe, long since abandoned by its 
owners. In a large room, or hall, lighted by two 
large windows looking north and south, a long 
table, covered with a dark green cloth, was set in 
the middle of the marble floor, and around it were 
grouped the officers of the Imperial army, and of 
that of the Roman Catholic League. Apparently, 
the president or principal had not yet arrived, for 
the officers were standing or sitting in various 
groups, and chatting and laughing without re- 
straint. Suddenly there was a general silence. The 
officers took their seats at the table, and all eyes 
were turned to a door at the farther end of the 
hall, which was being opened by a musketeer. 
Two men made their appearance, and a greater 
contrast than they offer, it would be difficult to 
find. 

The one was of small stature, somewhat stoop- 
ing, with hard, austere features, thin, hollow cheeks, 
a long nose, and a broad, wrinkled forehead ; while 


244 


THE MAID OF STRALSUND. 


there was an expression of gloom — of dark brood- 
ing, upon his face and in his eyes, which made it 
a relief to turn to the figure which followed him. 
It was that of a cavalry officer, fully equipped, and 
as tall and well made as any private cuirassier. 
Under the shining helmet and waving plume, 
which he carried loosely on his head, there was a 
face at once open and intelligent, but impetuous 
and haughty. The manner in which he glanced 
over the assembled officers, and frowned as he saw 
several chairs empty, showed that there was no sul- 
len silent anger with him, since he displayed every 
mood without attempt at concealment. The one 
who preceded him had as little of the soldier in his 
dress as the other had of the civilian. The former 
wore a silk doublet and hose of .a dark color, and a 
high-peaked hat ; the latter shining armor, his 
sword was suspended from a silk scarf, and his 
hands were covered with stout leather gloves. 
The one was Jahn Tserclaes, Count von Tilly, late 
general of the Bavarian army, and now general- 
issimo of the Imperial army ; the other, Count 
Pappenheim, the great cavalry general, and the 
most ardent and enthusiastic supporter of the 
house of Austria. 

Amidst a general silence the two generals took 


THE COUNCIL OF WAR. 


245 

their seat at the table ; the generalissimo at the 
head, and Pappenheim on his right hand. After a 
moment, Tilly rose, and with a sombre but clear 
and distinct voice, proceeded to unfold their posi- 
tion before Magdeburg. He had been informed 
that the town possessed enough provision to carry 
it through another two months of siege ; there was 
an imminent danger of the Swedish invader falling 
suddenly upon them, in which case they would 
find themselves between two fires, for the spirited 
sallies of the garrison had shown that they were 
not to be overlooked. On the other hand, the 
town of Magdeburg was so important a place that 
its falling into Swedish hands would prove a se- 
rious calamity to the Imperial arms, as its strength 
and situation made it excellently suited as* a store- 
house and arsenal for their enemies. Tilly finish- 
ed by calling upon the generals and officers to give 
him the benefit of their experience, and sat down 
with a gloomier look than before. 

The first who rose was Altringer, Tilly’s com- 
panion in arms. In a fervent and eloquent speech 
he pointed out that it would be the height of folly 
to await the arrival of the Swedish king in a camp 
and situation so untenable as theirs. “ The Swed- 
ish army,” he said, “is no longer what we have 


246 THE maid of stralsund. 

held it to be. It is well trained, well equipped, 
and well commanded ; this is the only army which 
at this moment can be opposed to that force ; 
prudence, therefore, must command our actions 
more than love of conquest and thirst for glory. 
Our defeat would expose all Germany to the 
victor ; our cautious retreat will thwart his meas- 
ures.” 

As he spoke, Pappenheim, who sat opposite to 
him, frowned, and a curious change came over his 
face. He had put his helmet aside, and upon his 
forehead could now be seen a slight mark, as of 
two daggers or swords crossing each other. As he 
heard Altringer’s recommendations to prudence, 
his eyes sparkled, his cheeks flushed, and the two 
marks upon his forehead swelled, became blood-red, 
and stood out prominently. 

Even before Altringer had finished his oration, 
he jumped up passionately, and exclaimed in angry 
tones that rang through the room, — 

“ Since when, indeed, has the brave Altringer 
found it necessary to fly before an enemy whom he 
has never met, and of whose numbers and strength 
he has apparently not the faintest conception ? 
Shall we relinquish our prey when it is almost with- 
in our teeth, because we fancy we hear the footsteps 


THE COUNCIL OF WAR. 


247 


of an approaching foe ? I am for a general assault 
on all sides. If that Swedish madman should dare 
to come upon us, are we not commanded by the 
most experienced and far-famed general of our 
age?” 

There was a silence when Pappenheim sat down. 
After some moments a veteran general rose, and in 
a hesitating voice, with many apologies, proceeded 
to narrate how he had been present at the siege of 
Maestricht, when only a stripling, under the com- 
mand of the Duke of Parma ; how then, also, Count 
Hohenlo was marching to the relief of the city, and 
how the duke resolved to take the town ere it could 
be prevented. How, after having stormed it nine 
times on one day, he made a feint as if withdraw- 
ing from the siege, by which the citizens became 
less careful in their vigilance. Suddenly, he pro- 
ceeded to say, the next morning at daybreak the 
town was stormed on eight sides simultaneously, 
and the city taken. He ended by drawing a parallel 
between the two cases and recommending the 
adoption of the plan in this instance. Several officers 
of high rank and great experience also rose and 
corroborated this statement or cited other examples. 

At last, after Pappenheim had spoken again, and 
incited the minds of the assembly with the pros- 


248 THE maid of stralsund . 

pects of revenge, — for a great many soldiers had 
fallen before the city already, — and of rich spoil, 
Count Tilly rose. During the whole debate he had 
been silent. A gloomy expression had reigned 
upon his face, and one might have fancied that he 
took no part whatever in the proceedings, had not 
his eyes wandered restlessly from speaker to 
speaker, from face to face, from one extremity of 
the table to the other, as if he were carefully weigh- 
ing and examining the different elements which com- 
posed this singular body. When he rose his opinion 
had been formed. The city was to be assaulted 
early in the morning of the next day. Pappenheim 
was to scale the walls of the new town, Altringer 
the spot where the walls of the old and new town 
met, and Tilly’s troops would mount the bastion at 
the west corner of the quadrangle. Three shots 
from a mortar were to be the sign. And as the 
officers parted from each other, full of hopes and 
in the prospect of a glorious victory, they said to 
each other, ‘‘To-morrow, about this time, we shall 
feast in Magdeburg.” 


CHAPTER XXV. 

Magdeburg’s doom. 

TI 7E shall now visit the city of Magdeburg it- 
* * self. In one of the streets in the neighbor- 
hood of the magnificent cathedral and of the 
Convent of the Barefoot Friars, stood a little house, 
neat and comfortable in appearance. From the 
window the face of Helena was anxiously peering 
down the street, evidently expecting some one. The 
sorrows which she had borne had ripened her 
beauty ; and though always lovely, she now pos- 
sessed a calmness and dignity which added to her 
sweet grace. As she looked through the window 
a bright smile came over her face, and she rushed 
to the door. A moment afterwards she returned 
to the room on the arm of Harry Wyndham. There 
was an expression of deep and tender affection in 
his face as he looked down at her, and yet there 
was a dissatisfaction — a something of restlessness or 
pain in it, which did not escape her watchful eye. 

249 


250 


THE MAID OF -S TR ALSU HD. 


“ What ails you, Harry ? ” she said. “ I expected 
to see your face radiant with happiness because the 
Imperialists have withdrawn. Surely,” she added, 
archly, “ you do not want more fighting ? ” 

“ No, indeed, I do not,” he answered earnestly ; 
“ and yet something warns me that this is but a false 
silence, and that the real storm will break above our 
heads with terrible fury. The prince should not 
interfere in these matters, for he has no experience 
whatever.” These last words he said more to himself. 

“ What has he done ?” asked Helena ; “ cannot 
you tell me ? I am so anxious to know.” 

“ it is very simple,” answered her lover. “ You 
know the fire of the enemy suddenly stopped this 
morning, and, as far as we could discern, they man- 
ifested the intention to withdraw. The prince, 
Christian William, immediately insists upon dimin- 
ishing the watches and the number of rounds, for 
he says the burghers have been troubled enough 
already. Of course, Lord Falkenberg would not 
consent to any such thing, and he is quite right ; 
for in such cases double vigilance and watchfulness 
are necessary. These Imperialists are not to be 
trusted farther than they can be seen ; and I am 
almost certain that they are meditating some 
dastardly trick.” 


MAGDEBURG'S DOOM. 


251 

“ We are in God’s hand, Harry,” said Helena ; 
“ and I believe that whatever the prince adminis- 
trator does, he does it with the intention of bene- 
fiting both our cause and the city.” 

“ No doubt,” said Harry, somewhat bitterly ; 
“ but it is just there his fault lies. He is too wise 
in his own conceit.” He paused, and added in a 
lower voice, as if reviewing while he spoke the 
the position of affairs, “ But why does he not listen 
to wiser and older men ? His whole measure of 
arming the citizens has been a failure. The poor 
complain that they have too much to bear, and the 
rich that they have ; they quarrel amongst them- 
selves, and not a day passes but we have trouble 
with them. What was expedient in Stralsund is 
useless and worse here, and the administrator 
ought to see it. I must go again to the Town Hall, 
and support Falkenberg. It is our duty, and he 
must not be left to do it all by himself.” 

With many entreaties, however, Helena prevailed 
upon him to sit down and take some food. As he 
had not tasted any for some hours, it was very wel- 
come, though he would probably have forgotten it 
in his excitement and dissatisfaction. It was late 
ere he came home again, weary and tired, and still 
more dissatisfied than before. He found the pas- 


THE MAID OF STRALSUND. 


252 

tor and his daughter waiting for him, to hear the 
result of the deliberations at the Townhall ; and it 
was not to be wondered at, with their little experi- 
ence in military matters, that the cessation of the 
Imperial fire made a greater impression upon them 
than the fact that caution now became much more 
necessary than ever. They repaired to rest, and 
were soon in a calm slumber, entirely ignorant of 
the fearful doom which had at that time already 
been pronounced over the unhappy city. Before 
morning their rest was roughly broken, — 

“ Harry ! Harry ! I hear the alarm-bells ringing, 
and I fancy they are shooting in the city.” 

Such were the old pastors words as he stood in 
the early day, trembling and half-dressed, before 
Harry’s door. After having knocked repeatedly, 
and heard no answer, he opened the door and found 
the room empty, and the bed so little disturbed 
that the occupant could scarcely have used it. At 
the same time the noise grew nearer and nearer, 
and the report of firearms fell more quickly upon 
his ear. 

“ Father, father!” Helena cried, in a frightened 
voice; “what is this noise? Is the city being 
taken ?” 

She stood in the door of the room, with her hands 


MAGDEBURG'S DOOM. 


2 53 


clasped and her pale face looking anxiously into 
that of her father. “ Is there not danger ? ” she 
continued ; “ I have never heard the noise so near 
us before.” 

“ We are in the hand of God, my child, and He 
will guard us from danger,” said the old man, de- 
voutly ; 46 but I almost fear that the worst has come. 
Let us dress and go down stairs, where we can pass 
the time in prayer, till we know something more 
certain.” 

The confused shout of soldiers, the clash of 
swords, and the ring of firearms became Jouder than 
ever ; and it was with trembling hands that the 
pastor dressed himself and hurried to join Helena 
and the old servant in the lower room. Here, 
amidst the noise which increased every moment, 
they knelt down, having made fast the door, and the 
pastor breathed a short and earnest prayer to God 
that He might help and protect them. Nearer and 
nearer came the tumult, more fierce were the cries, 
more piercing the shrieks of the women and chil- 
dren. It was an awful moment, full of the direst 
suspense. Soon the little street below resounded 
with men’s voices. They all sprang back, for a 
shot from a pistol had smashed the lock of the door. 
The soldiers pressed in upon them, and there seemed 


THE MAID OF STRALSUND . 


2 54 

no possibility of resisting their brute anger. But 
at this crisis of their fate Harry’s voice was heard. 
Sharper rang the clash of the swords, and in another 
minute he was seen forcing his way into the room, 
wearing to their astonishment, the guise of an Im- 
perial trooper. We draw a veil over the scene that 
followed, and the murderous strife that filled the 
city. 

An hour later, and Harry might have been seen 
carrying Helena in his arms, and hastening to the 
cathedral, followed by the pastor and his servant. 
They opened the back door, when a horrible spec- 
tacle presented itself to them — the church was filled 
with the lifeless bodies of women and children. The) 
turned back, but the buildings behind them were ir 
flames. The air was filled with screams. 

“ Then to our own church,” cried Harry, flying 
past the cathedral into Broad Street, the principal 
street of the town. The spectacle increased in 
horror. Women, little children, old men rushed 
about frantically ; heaps of corpses covered the 
street^ the stones were slippery with blood. Still 
they fled on, hoping to reach their own little church 
in safety, when, turning into a little square, they 
met a mounted officer of the League. 

He pulled up when he saw them ; he jumped 


MAGDEBURG'S DOOM. 


255 

from his horse; he was by their side; “ Pastor Her- 
mann, Helena, how is this ? Follow me ; hold my 
stirrup on each side.” 

Instinctively the trembling fugitives clung to 
him. 

“ And you, sir, leave us ! ” said the officer, 
sternly, pointing with his sword in a different 
direction, imagining that he spoke to one of the 
soldiers of the League. 

At that moment, however, it flashed across 
Harry’s brain that he had seen the Croat officer 
before. Yes ; he was sure of it now. It was the 
same one whose life he had saved in the skirmish 
on the way to Stralsund. And thus, while still 
supporting Helena, he said, lifting up his face to 
the officer, “ Do you not remember meeting me on 
the Demmin Heath, Herr Captain, six months ago, 
with your Croats ? ” 

“What!” cried the officer, astonished: “can 
this be true ? I owe you a great debt, sir. It is 
good that you are thus disguised, for the troops are 
taking fearful revenge, and have sworn to kill every 
man in the town, — and every woman too,” he add- 
ed, with a faint and painful smile, “ to judge by 
what I have already seen. But no more words, for 
time is precious, and we are running great danger. 


256 THE maid of stralsund . 

Pastor,” he said to the astonished old man, who 
could hardly believe his eyes and ears, “ grasp my 
stirrup : and you ” — he turned to the servant — 
“ grasp the other.” Then, addressing himself to 
Harry, he said, throwing him his own cloak, 
“ Throw this hussar mantle over you, and carry 
Helena behind my horse.” 

Once more they found themselves in Broad 
Street, which became every moment more crowded, 
more bloody, and more horrible. Helena shudder- 
ed, and her head fell on Harry’s shoulder. He 
clasped her more firmly and whispered, “ Hold 
yourself perfectly motionless and shut your eyes, 
then you will attract less attention.” 

They moved on as best they could between 
drunken soldiers laden with booty and stained with 
blood, desperate citizens and flying women, till they 
came to the bank of the Elbe, and there, indeed, 
the scene surpassed all description. The bank was 
crowded ; women, children,* men, of all ages, and 
belonging to all classes of society, from the beggar 
to the wealthy merchant, were densely packed to- 
gether up to the water’s edge ; the pressure from 
behind continually pushed some people into the 
water, whose cries for help, joined to those of their 
friends still on the bank, were fearful to hear. In 


MAGDEBURG'S DOOM. 


257 

the middle of the river there were boats, rowed by 
soldiers, who seemed to take a demon-like pleasure 
in offering their assistance to the highest bidder, 
darting at a good offer here or there, which they 
would take into their boat, beating down hundreds 
of eager hands with their swords, and rowing away 
to the other side. The wildest offers rang through 
the air. One apparently wealthy merchant held 
out a bag with 10,000 thalers for the man who 
would save his wife and two little children. A 
middle-aged lady held out a costly diamond orna- 
ment — worth, perhaps, twice that amount — for a 
boat to convey her and her daughter across. 

The officer looked at the scene for a moment : 
then, as a boat drew near the quay at the spot 
where he stood, he turned to his escort and bade 
them follow him to the water’s edge and wait 
there. Then raising a shout, he made his horse 
rear ; the people between him and the water press- 
ed away on both sides in mortal terror. In a mo- 
ment all five were at the water’s edge, when, plung- 
ing with his steed into the water, the officer swam 
to an approaching boat and spoke to the rowers. 
They pulled to the spot where Harry stood. A 
fearful struggle took place ; a hundred people press- 
ed forward, but Harry was assisted to deposit his 
17 


258 THE maid of stralsund . 

burden. A wail went up from those whom they 
left behind as they were rowed across and landed 
safely on the other side. 

Their deliverer was already at the water-side 
awaiting them. His legs were dripping and he 
was without horse ; but as soon as they had landed 
he hurried them on. Without once looking back 
at the horrible scenes which they had escaped, 
they followed him through row after row of tents, 
until, stopping before one, he requested them to 
enter. It was large enough to contain them all. 
As they entered, the pastor fell upon his knees and 
uncovered his head. The others followed his ex- 
ample, but his voice broke down, and for some mo- 
ments nothing in the tent was heard but sobs. 

When the pastor rose the officer stood by the 
entrance of the tent. He too, had uncovered, and 
the upper part of his face, which had been before 
partially hidden by his helmet, was now plainly 
visible. He stood with his arms crossed on his 
breast, and a gloomy look on his face, regarding 
the devotion of those whom he had saved. Both 
the pastor and Harry, when they saw his face, 
gave a start. 

“ Theodore ! ” cried the old man, tottering and 
stretching out his hands. But the strength which 


MAGDEBURG'S DOOM. 


259 

had hitherto supported him failed, and he sank 
down exhausted. 

“ Did you not recognize me at first ? ” said the 
Imperial officer with some astonishment. 

“ I knew the voice,” replied Harry ; “ but we were 
all too bewildered to think of you. Besides — ” 

“ Yes,” said Theodore, as he saw the other’s 
hesitation, “ I know what you intend to say. You 
did not expect to be snatched from the hands of 
death by one who is no longer among the living. 
You thought 1 was dead: I am dead. For this 
moment alone am I Theodore Wechter. When 
you leave me he shall go also. My name is 
Hochherz.” 

“ Then while you are still Theodore, let me fer- 
vently thank you for your conduct this day. I 
know there is no friendship between us, nor do I 
accept deliverance for myself. If there be aught in 
which I have wronged you, I am here to answer for 
it ; though were it not unseeming, I would pray 
your pardon. But these,” pointing to the girl, who 
had drawn her father’s head on to her shoulder, 
“ God placed them in your hands.” 

“ They are safe,” said Theodore, somewhat 
curtly ; “ I have not exposed myself to Tilly’s 
wrath in order that I might take their liberty or 


26 o the maid of s tralslnd. 

shed your blood. I am doing what has been strict- 
ly forbidden ; but it matters little what the results 
are to me. I have ordered my servant to bring you 
some rustic clothes, disguised in which a farmer’s 
cart will take you to Leipsic.” 

“ Can you not fly with us ? ” said Helena, with 
faltering voice. “ We should have a double reason 
to thank God if we could thank him also for 
you. Let Hochherz die, and Wechter will find his 
father’s arms ready to embrace him.” 

He shook his head, and as his glance rested 
upon the girl, it softened. 

“ It is better thus. A man can change once, 
but once only. Whatever the Stralsund burgher 
may have been, Tilly’s cuirassier shall not forsake 
his standard.” 

These words were spoken so slowly and so delib- 
erately, that neither the pastor nor the young 
Scot attempted to argue with him : feeling with 
the sterner instincts of man, and his deeper appre- 
ciation of character, that this was not a momentary 
resolve. Not so Helena. She could not forbear 
exerting the power of tender persuasion that 
formed so charming a part of her character. 
Again and again she besought him with tears ; 
and she related to him how, in her last hours, his 


MAGDEBURG'S DOOM . 


261 


mother had urged her, if ever she met Theodore to 
give him her last blessing : and how his father, 
broken in health and spirit, had fled from the scene 
of so many sad recollections, and, though silent, 
yearned for his son’s presence. But it was in 
vain. There were tears in his eyes, and once or 
twice he seemed to struggle convulsively to suppress 
his emotion ; but it was too evident that he had 
formed his proud resolve and would not be moved. 
He had suffered. Those furrows on his forehead 
and those lines round his mouth had been ploughed 
by a sharp instrument ; but when the passing emo- 
tions left his face in its normal state, the pastor and 
Harry noticed with pity that his gloom and his 
sternness had deepened, and that he hurried into 
the excesses, the wild adventures, the tumultuous 
life of the cuirassiers, that he might escape from 
a more dreadful tumult within. 

This interview became extremely painful, and 
Theodore ended it by somewhat abruptly leaving 
the tent. In silence the fugitives partook of the 
refreshments that were offered them, and effected 
the desired change in their clothing. As the 
evening fell, the sounds of misery and ruin across 
the Elbe increased in horror and intensity, and 
gladly did the trembling and exhausted women 


262 the maid of s teals und. 

mount the cart that had been provided for them at 
the extremity of the camp. Theodore they saw 
no more ; and as they slowly wended their way 
towards Leipsic, the evening sky was illumined by 
the dreadful an$ lurid light of the flaming Bishop’ s- 
city. 


CHAPTER XXVI. 


WOE TO THEM. 


FTER a terribly fatiguing journey of three 



■*- ^ days during which time they were more than 
once exposed to great danger, Harry and his party 
arrived in Saxon territory, and once more breathed 
freely. They resolved, however, not to stop ere 
they gained the Swedish army ; for only there, 
they considered, could they deem themselves per- 
fectly safe. Accordingly, when they had rested for 
a day at the city of Wirtemberg, they procured a 
vehicle, as good as could be had in those days when 
the modes of conveyance were still in their' infancy, 
and were soon approaching the Swedish camp, 
which was pitched not far from the Saxon frontier. 
As they were moving along in silence, Harry on 
horseback, and the others in a clumsy cart, the 
driver, putting his hand to his eyes and looking be- 
fore him, thought he saw a troop of horse approach- 
ing. And truly a cloud of dust appeared on the 


264 THE MAID OF STRALSUND. 

road, which, drawing nearer and nearer, disclosed 
a score or so of horsemen, riding at a slow pace. 
Harry strained his eyes to discover who and what 
they were ; but the sun shining in their faces, to- 
gether with the dust, prevented him from seeing, 
except at almost the last moment, that the party 
was headed by the king himself. He had just time 
to turn round — for he was riding in advance — 
and to whisper the fact to those behind him, when 
they found themselves in the king’s presence. He 
had already scanned the whole party from a distance, 
and probably made up his mind who they were. 
When he saw Harry’s military salute, however, he 
pulled up ; Harry did likewise, and the cart stopped, 
all its occupants uncovering. 

“ Whither is your journey, my good people?’’ 
asked the king, looking attentively at the pastor 
and then at Helena, whose pale cheeks became 
covered with a modest blush as her eyes met those 
of Gustavus ; “ and whence do ye come ? ” 

“ Our journey is sad enough, may it please your 
majesty,” answered Pastor Hermann; “we are 
fugitives from the unhappy Magdeburg.” 

“ What ? ” asked the king ; “ from the city or 
from the province ? Were you in the city when it 
was besieged ? ” 


WOE TO THEM. 265 

“ We were, sire,” answered the pastor ; “ we 
were in it when it was taken and sacked.” 

“ And you, sir,” said the king, turning to Harry, 
who was dressed as a farmer ; “ do you also come 
from that unhappy city ? But methinks I have 
seen your face ere now, have I not ? ” 

“ My name is Harry Wyndham, sire,” answered 
Harry ; “ captain in the late regiment of Lord Fal- 
kenberg’s hussars, and I may say, one of the few 
survivors of the ill-fated garrison, and now at your 
majesty’s command.” 

“Oho !” said the king ; and a shade of sadness 
came over his face as he turned to General Banner, 
by his side ; “ here, then, we have at least an eye- 
witness. Is it true, captain,” he continued, “that 
our dear friend Lord Falkenberg is no more ? ” 
“Your majesty,” answered Harry, gravely, “ Lord 
Falkenberg died the death of a hero, sword in 
hand in defence of his post.” 

“ Where were you at the time ? ” 

“ Not two yards behind him, and had I not stum- 
bled and fallen, I should undoubtedly have shared 
his fate. I have a commission to your majesty 
from Lord Falkenberg,” said Harry. 

“Indeed! ” said the king, warmly, “what is it ? 
I have no secrets before these gentlemen.” 


266 THE maid of stralsund. 

“ It is no secret, sire,” said Harry, sadly. He 
had dismounted, and stood before the king’s horse. 

“ He asked me to pray you to accept this ring, 
which he was sure you would recollect. And he 
fervently hopes that your majesty will be guardian 
to his little son, and educate him as a faithful ser- 
vant to God and your majesty.” 

The king silently accepted the ring, of pure gold, 
with a small but costly diamond which he had 
presented to Countess Falkenberg on the event of 
her marriage, at which he himself had assisted. 
He looked down upon it for some moments in 
silence, and Harry could see that he was deeply 
moved. 

“ Gentlemen,” he said at last, turning to those 
around him, “ we have lost one of our noblest and 
truest comrades.” 

There was a silence of some moments. 

“ Captain Wyndham,” he resumed, “ you have 
joined us voluntarily, like many others whose no- 
bleness we prize highly. It is a sad thing in the 
eyes of God, as well as of men, that His cause 
should have to be sustained by such arms as we 
are now obliged to carry ; but, since it is so, I can 
give you no greater token of my regard than that 
I thank you heartily for your services. After you 


WOE TO THEM. 267 

have refreshed yourself in the camp, I expect you 
and that worthy man and his daughter at my 
quarters, that we may hear some more particulars 
of what happened at Magdeburg.” 

The king moved on, and the cart was soon ap- 
proaching the camp. Thanks to Colonel Hepburn, 
whom Wyndham visited immediately, and with 
whom he was acquainted, the pastor with his 
daughter and servant received excellent lodgings 
in the house of a farmer, not far from the king’s 
own. Here they had ample opportunity of re- 
freshing themselves ; and when the good-natured 
hostess heard that the “ Fraulein” was to have an 
audience with the king, she insisted upon adorning 
her with all the finery of which she was possessed. 
As this would have made her look very much like 
a doll at a fair, — an outward appearance which 
ill-accorded with the poor girl’s mind, — she quietly 
but firmly refused all ornaments, and chose nothing 
but a black gown which made her appear doubly 
graceful. 

The king was alone when they were announced, 
and kindly requested them to be seated. He him- 
self, as was one of his peculiarities, leaned on his 
elbow out of the window and scanned the beautiful 
landscape before him, which was now colored with 


268 THE maid of stralsund. 

the mellow tints of an evening in May, the tips of 
the hills and the trees of the forest being covered 
with a profusion of gold which the setting sun 
threw upon them. 

After some irrelevant questions, the king 
asked, “ And when did Falkenberg give you that 
ring ? ” 

“ Allow me to tell you the whole affair, sire,” 
said Wyndham. “ I went to bed the previous night 
with a vague feeling that something terrible would 
happen. At the first break of day I awoke with a 
start, and not being able to go to sleep again, I 
rose, and leaving the house quietly, went to the 
Town Hall, where I found Lord Falkenberg and 
another officer, named Schmidt, of our army. 
They were engaged in questioning the trumpeter 
whom Tilly had sent the previous night, and my 
lord seemed rather astonished to see me. I told 
him that I had a presentiment that the quiet in the 
enemy’s camp boded no good. He looked very 
grave, and asked whether I thought that there 
would be much more fighting ere the king came to 
our relief ; and I said that I believed there would 
be, as I knew that your majesty’s army could not 
move forward in a hostile country so quickly as we 
expected. ‘Then, captain/ says he, ‘we’ll take 


WOE TO THEM. 269 

something to eat before our work.’ Two or three 
times he seemed on the point of saying something; 
but as we were eating our breakfast, three shots of 
a mortar broke upon the silence of the morning. 
‘ That’s a sign for the assault/ says he, snatching 
up his sword and commanding Schmidt to fly to 
the cathedral and peal the alarm-bell ; he ran with 
me to the barracks, and thence to the new town, 
where Pappenheim’s dragoons were already master 
of the gate, and beat us back. Seeing that we 
could not do much there, we turned to the other 
gate where Tilly’s men were coming in, and it was 
then that he gave me this ring. Scarcely had he 
said the words which I have related to your 
majesty, when he fell down at my feet. Happily, 
I stumbled, and I felt the Imperial soldiers going 
over me. I managed to creep into a house and 
strip a fallen Imperialist of his regimentals ; for 
seeing that the town was lost, I concluded that my 
only duty now was to look to the safety of my 
friends, who direly needed my protection.” 

“ Woe to them ! Tilly shall have to answer me 
for that,” said the king, when Harry had finished 
his tale. “ To think that in a Christian country, 
and by men who worship at least one common God 
with us, such fearful things should have been per- 


270 


THE MAID OF STRALSUND. 


petrated, is hardly imaginable. Had I known what 
was to happen, I would have wished much to 
travel more quickly ; for what will people say of a 
Christian leader who leaves his allies thus at the 
mercy of his enemy.” 

He said these words almost to himself, but then, 
turning courteously to Helena, he said “And 
you, madam, may be thankful to God that He has 
saved you from so fearful and horrible a danger.” 

“ Sire,” said Helena, in whose eyes tears had 
started when she heard the kings former words, 
“ your piety and your courage can be suspected by 
no one.” 

The king looked kindly at her, and asked her 
whether she would object to belong to the suite of 
his queen, Eleonora, who was then expected to 
arrive every day. “ You will there be more se- 
cure,” he said, “ than at any other place, while you 
will see more of the world.” 

Helena hesitated, and threw a look of anxiety 
on her father, who regarded her with a kind and 
proud smile. 

“ Ah ! ” said the king, noticing her look, “ we 
will see to that ! I will give orders to Oxenstierna 
to have you provided for.” 

Not long afterwards they withdrew. 


CHAPTER XXVII. 


MAGDEBURG AVENGED. 

E must now request the reader to step over 



* * an interval of rather more than a year 
since the terrible events related in our last chap- 
ters. That year had undoubtedly been one of the 
most eventful and important in the history of Ger- 
many. It witnessed the victorious progress of the 
Swedish king into the very heart of Germany — a 
progress which was alike remarkable for boldness 
of conception, rapidity of execution, and invariable 
good fortune. It witnessed, too, the terrible pun- 
ishment which was inflicted upon the bloody 
destroyer of Magdeburg ; it witnessed the defeat and 
ruin of the Imperial army, the conquest of the rich 
Electorate of Bavaria, that stronghold of Austria 
and hotbed of Popery and superstition, and the 
humiliation of the proud Emperor to such a degree 
that he was forced to call to his defence his bit- 


271 


THE MAID OF STRALSUND. 


272 

terest and most dangerous enemy, the Duke of 
Friedland. 

When Tilly had completed the ruin of the epis- 
copal city so entirely that only two churches and 
but few houses remained standing, and fully two- 
thirds of its inhabitants had perished, he laid the 
country behind him waste. Alarmed at the> ap- 
proach of Gustavus, he once more hastened to 
Magdeburg and encamped in its neighborhood, 
while the king lay with his army within twenty 
miles. All Tilly’s endeavors to force the king into 
a battle were vain. The latter knew his inferiority 
in numbers ; and as he expected reinforcements, 
he prudently declined a decisive contest till that 
time. In the meanwhile the Elector of Branden- 
burg had concluded an alliance with Gustavus, and 
the Elector of Saxony, who had hitherto been 
wavering, seemed inclined to follow the example. 
The Elector of Saxony possessed one of the finest 
of German States. He was at the head of the 
Protestant Union; but his army, large though it 
was, was not equal to that of Tilly either in strength 
or experience. He found himself in a difficult po- 
sition. As head of the Union, he was loth to put 
himself under the protection of Gustavus; as 
Protestant prince, he could not support the Em- 


MA GDEB URG A VENGED. 


2 73 

peror ; as vassal of the Emperor he dare not seize 
arms against his liege lord. There were, too, ele- 
ments at work round about him to make his decision 
more difficult. Some of his ministers were secretly 
in Austrian pay. His court chaplain, Dr. Hoe, of 
Hoenegg, a violent Calvinist, incited him to inde- 
pendence of action. The general of his troops, our 
old acquaintance, Arnheim, a sworn though secret 
friend of the ill-treated Wallenstein, and jealous of 
Pappenheim and Tilly, could not bear his present 
inactivity. Once already had the elector refused 
the king’s request to join him. Then Tilly, who 
had watched him, and who desired to get at a 
decision, suddenly sent him a summons either to 
abstain from increasing his armament and troops, or 
to join him immediately. This turned the balance 
to the other side. The elector sent off two messen- 
gers : one to Tilly with a refusal, one to the Swedish 
king with a prayer for assistance. 

Tilly, on receipt of the refusal, immediately broke 
up his camp, and marched with his whole army to 
Halle, and thence to Leipsic, both of which places 
fell into his hands. His course was marked by the 
most frightful excesses, but, curiously, the two 
towns themselves were hardly mistreated. The 
elector, in the meanwhile, not confident of his own 
18 


274 


THE MAID OF STRALSUND. 


strength, had marched with his army towards Gus- 
tavus, and, driven by necessity and fear, was ready 
to submit to any conditions. But the king, whose 
upright and decisive character could not understand 
so lukewarm and equivocal a conduct as that of the 
elector, and who feared lest he might lose his ally 
as soon as the enemy left his territory, held himself 
at first as if he would have no connection with the 
elector. But when he saw that the latter was will- 
ing to accept any terms, he altered his tone, and 
on the 2d of September, at the little village of 
Coswick, the treaty between the two potentates 
was concluded, and the two armies were joined. 

Five days afterwards the two hostile armies con- 
fronted each other not far from Leipsic. After a 
long and obstinate struggle, the Imperial army was 
entirely routed and driven off the field. Covered 
with wounds, Tilly fled to Halle with scarcely six 
hundred men. He left the battle-field in the hands 
of the king, with a loss of seven thousand killed, 
five thousand prisoners, all his artillery, his camp, 
and more than a hundred standards. 

But there was still more in store for Tilly. When 
he had barely recovered from his wounds, he has- 
tened with what had been left of his army to South- 
ern Germany, and with all despatch and energy 


MA GDEB URG A VENGED. 


2 75 

proceeded to levy a new one. It was not long be- 
fore he was again in the field at the head of a 
powerful force, and burning with desire to recover 
the laurels which the northern hero had snatched 
from his head. Tilly’s masters, the Elector of 
Bavaria and the Emperor, however, had both learned 
to be cautious by his late defeat. It was Tilly’s 
desire to fight another battle, — the bloodier the 
better, — and to gain a complete victory over the 
intruder. It was their duty to protect the German 
territories. Another defeat would be fatal, and 
they had been taught that a battle was not the 
same as a victory. With tears in his eyes, Tilly 
read the command to abstain from a drawn battle, 
and much against his will he had to content him- 
self with garrisoning towns, marching to the res- 
cue of a besieged city to find it already taken, and 
to withdraw when the enemy came too close. 

From Leipsic to Erfurt and Weimar, from 
Weimar to Frankfort, from Frankfort to Nurem- 
berg, did the king march with the loss of scarcely 
a soldier. The towns on his way opened their 
gates to him with rejoicing, the inhabitants willingly 
threw off the former yoke. The few cities that 
made a show of resistance were carried in one or 
two days. The troops of the Emperor were invari- 


276 THE maid of stralsund . 

ably routed ; and after an easy and victorious march 
into the very heart of Germany, the king resolved 
to take up his winter quarters in the town of 
Mayence, which capitulated after a four days’ siege, 
the greater part of the garrison taking service in 
the conqueror’s army. Here in the middle of 
winter the king held his court, surrounded by 
princes and ambassadors, by his queen, and by the 
fugitive King of Bohemia. Every day news arrived 
of some important town having capitulated, of a 
general having routed an Imperial detachment, of 
a State having agreed to pay a subsidy. It was, 
indeed, a conqueror’s court, and there was ample 
ground for the belief that God favored this under- 
taking. 

On the 8th of March, 1632, when the weather 
had become sufficiently clement for further oper- 
ations, the king decamped with his army to Bavaria, 
which lay open before him. At the end of the 
month he had made a public entry into Nuremberg, 
carried Donauwert, and made preparations to cross 
the river Lech and march across the frontiers of 
Bavaria to its capital, Munich. 

At this epoch the Elector of Bavaria saw that 
the time had come in which he must oppose Tilly 
to the advancing enemy. For now as much would 


MAGDEBURG AVENGED. 


277 


be lost by no battle as by a defeat. Tilly encamped 
on the right bank of the river, Gustavus on the left, 
which was much higher, and gave him great advan- 
tage. The result was even greater than had been 
either expected or feared. Tilly was killed, his 
trusty comrade Altringer dangerously wounded. 
Magdeburg had been avenged. 

The Elector of Bavaria, who had thrown himself 
into the camp, retreated with the whole of his force 
ere yet a man of the Swedish army had crossed, 
and abandoned a situation so strong that Gustavus, 
when he saw it, exclaimed, “I would never have 
forsaken so magnificent a position ! ” In the middle 
of the following month the king made his victorious 
entry into the city of Munich. Thus in less than 
two years had he marched from the shores of the 
Baltic to within two hundred miles of the Imperial 
City. He had defeated three of the greatest generals 
of the age ; he had been received as a deliverer 
within all the towns in Northern Germany ; he had 
entered those of the South as a conqueror without 
spilling any blood to obtain his conquest, and he 
had effected all this with but little loss. The way 
to Vienna lay open to him ; the army that had 
opposed him was without a leader ; the towns, terri- 
fied by his very name, were ready to open their 


278 THE maid of stralsund. 

gates on his appearance, and the days of the house 
of Hapsburg seemed to be numbered. 

But an enemy more formidable even than Tilly 
here diverted the king’s attention from a road 
which he might otherwise have taken, and com- 
pelled him to retrace his steps in order to guard 
and protect what he had won. 

Wallenstein, Duke of Friedland, whom we intro- 
duced in the beginning of our story, had undoubtedly 
been treated with great meanness and ingratitude 
by his Imperial master. Proud, imperious, and 
dangerously ambitious, he had yet rendered the 
Imperial cause immense services ; but when the 
enemies of the Emperor had been vanquished, and 
the immediate want of the duke’s army was no 
longer felt, he was dismissed with many protesta- 
tions of gratitude and esteem, and deprived of the 
command of an army which he had principally 
raised at his own expense. He received the blow 
without flinching. With a smile on his lips, he re- 
tired to his estates in Bohemia, where, shut out from 
the world, and surrounded by regal magnificence, he 
awaited the ripening of those plans which he had 
long since made. The present circumstances only 
stimulated his activity, and in his solitude he was 
kept informed of everything that passed. 


MAGDEBURG AVENGED. 


279 


His overtures to Gustavus Adolphus to assist him 
in conquering Germany were refused in the be- 
ginning of the invasion. They were not renewed, 
but the duke resolved to extend his punishment to 
the invader also. At last the time arrived. Tilly 
died ; the army was without a commander ; the 
Elector of Bavaria a fugitive ; the Emperor was 
shaking on his throne. Ambassadors were sent to 
Wallenstein to offer him the post of generalissimo, 
and again and again they returned with a curt 
refusal. At last Wallenstein named his terms, and, 
to make a deeper impression, raised an army of 
40,000 men in less than three months. Then he 
retired to await the concession of his demands. The 
king of Sweden was preparing to march to Vienna ; 
there was but one man to oppose him, and the 
Emperor saw himself forced to accede to his terms. 
The duke became generalissimo, with the sole 
power over life and death in his army. No one 
was allowed to enter or command it, not even the 
Emperor, except by his permission. And to him 
belonged the power of doing with the conquered 
countries what he pleased. Truly there were two 
emperors in Germany then, and the one at the head 
of a powerful army was the mightier. 


CHAPTER XXVIII. 

AN OLD ACQUAINTANCE. 

T 7 E find ourselves in the Swedish camp, before 
* * the walls of Nuremberg. It was a marvel 
of workmanship and fortification. A trench twelve 
feet broad and eight feet deep surrounded the whole 
camp, which was provided with walls, redoubts, 
bastions, gates, and breastworks, like a city. A 
hundred and fifty pieces of cannon defended the 
walls, while cleanliness and health were secured by 
the river Pegnitz which flowed through the camp. 
At the moment at which we enter it there is bustle 
and activity. The Chancellor Oxenstierna has 
arrived with an army of 50,000 men, composed of 
the new Swedish and German levies, and room has 
to be found for the greater part of them. Sixty can- 
non and 4,000 baggage wagons are as yet outside 
the camp, till sufficient space can be cleared for 
them. 


280 


AN OLD ACQUAINTANCE. 


281 


Near this group of armament, which occupied 
considerable ground, a regiment of cavalry had been 
stationed to protect and watch over the impedi- 
menta , for the Croats of the Duke of Friedland 
were exceedingly bold, and would undoubtedly 
attempt to carry some of them away should they 
remain exposed. The officer who commanded this 
party, and who was no other than Harry Wyndham, 
had dropped the bridle of his horse on its neck, and 
was intently engaged in reconnoitring the horizon. 
In the distance his experienced eye could discern 
small volumes of smoke rising straight up to heaven. 
They were the camp fires of the Duke of Fried- 
land’s army, — in an equally strong position on the 
other side of the river ; he being quite as deter- 
mined as the Swedish king to see who would be the 
first to give in. 

Wyndham had followed the king’s victorious 
career, step by step, by the side of his friend 
Baverley. After the death of Lord Falkenberg they 
had obtained permission to exchange into the regi- 
ment of Colonel Lumsdell, a brave English officer 
who had come over with the king, and who showed 
himself, at the head of his Scots, one of the coolest 
and most intrepid officers in the army. Much to the 
contentment of all parties, Helena had accepted the 


282 the maid of stralsund: 

king’s offer, and was attached to the queen s suite, 
where she was safe; while her father’s health at 
last broke down after so many vicissitudes. On 
the removal of the court to Mayence during the 
winter of 1631-32, the pious old man, overcome by 
fatigue and the severity of the weather, sank 
rapidly. On the second day after his arrival in 
the city he found his strength giving way alto- 
gether ; but although he knew his last days had 
come, he was of good cheer. On his death-bed, 
which was surrounded by Baverley, Harry, and 
Helena, he joined the hands of the two lovers ; 
and then, as if his only trouble had been cleared 
away, he laid his head down with a gentle smile 
and passed away imperceptibly. 

Harry had thus followed the king on his march, 
and they were now at Nuremberg. So intently was 
he gazing at Wallenstein’s camp, that he did not 
notice the approach of an officer on foot who 
had issued out of the camp ; and it was not 
till the well-known voice of Herr Wechter greeted 
him, his hand patting the horse, that Harry knew 
of his approach. They had not seen each other 
since their last meeting in the camp at Schwedt. 
Three times had he been sent on a mission to 
Sweden, and each time on his return Harry or Ba- 


AN OLD ACQUAINTANCE, 283 

verley heard of his arrival and subsequent departure 
when it was too late. He had since then constantly 
been with Oxenstierna, who commanded the troops 
on the Rhine, and had only returned with him. 

“ I was weary of all the din and bustle/’ he said 
to Harry, “ and learning that you were here, I 
thought it would be refreshing to see a Stralsund 
friend again. I never expected to see you alive 
when I heard of the destruction of Magdeburg, 
knowing that you were part of the garrison ; and 
you may thank God that He has pleased to 
pluck you and yours out of that fire. But tell 
me, how did it happen.” 

Harry related how and by whom they had been 
saved from a fearful death. Herr Wechter sat on 
the grass, with his back leaning against a tree. 
There were tears in his eyes, and his face wore an 
expression of deep sadness. He grasped his friend’s 
hand, and pressing it firmly, said, “ I thank you ; I 
thank you very much. How I have prayed over that 
boy, — how I have watched over him ! I thought I 
acted wisely, but I clearly see now I was too hard 
with him. The melancholy deed by -which he 
separated himself for ever from us, did not surprise 
me so much as it did others. I knew his desperate 
temper. I watched his jealousy of you, and I 


2o4 


THE MAID OF STRALSUND. 


pitied him deeply ; for I saw myself that you had 
a greater right to the affections of that sweet maid 
than he ! ” 

“ Think you that his blow was premeditated ? ” 
asked Wyndham. 

“ Nay, I think no act of his was ever premedi- 
tated. He had no control over his passions, but 
allowed them to guide him whither they listed. I 
have no doubt he was deeply sorry for it afterwards. 
Oh that I could but see him and speak to him again ! 
Oh that I could but press him to my heart !” 

When the worthy burgher rose and slowly re- 
turned to the camp, Wyndham looked after him and 
sighed. “ Only a few miles between father and 
son!” he said to himself; “could they not meet 
again ? Were it not possible to send him a letter ? 
So near, and yet so far ! ” 

The position of the Swedish army at Nuremberg 
became unbearable. With every exertion and with 
the price in his hands the king could not obtain 
enough provisions for so many men. The thousands 
of pounds of bread that were daily carried from the 
town into the camp could barely satisfy the sharpest 
pangs of hunger. Horses died rapidly for the want 
of forage. Disease broke out everywhere and car- 
ried off more lives than would be lost by the blood- 


AN OLD ACQUAINTANCE. 285 

iest battle. It is true, ever and anon by a piece of 
good luck the Swedes increased their stores some- 
what by the surprise of a convoy or the taking of a 
magazine. But nevertheless the want became more 
pressing each day. The German soldiers and offi- 
cers of his army began to rob and forage among 
the peasantry, and the example was speedily fol- 
lowed by the rest of the troops. Daily complaints 
from the citizens and peasants came to the king ; 
and he grew angry and sad that even his own 
soldiers should at last be seduced to commit these 
excesses. He resolved to offer Wallenstein battle, 
and bring the matter to a crisis. Accordingly, 
attended by three or four generals and a troop of 
Lumsdell’s horse, to which Harry belonged, they set 
out to reconnoitre the country around. 

They had not ridden for more than two miles 
when they came to a farmhouse which appeared to 
be totally uninhabited. The king halted, and with 
a stern voice commanded an officer to enter the 
house and see whether there were any people in it. 
The officer returned with a troubled face, and re- 
ported that he had found' the body of a middle 
aged peasant apparently quite dead, blood flowing 
from a wound in the head. All the cupboards and 
presses in the house had been broken open and 


286 THE maid of stralsund. 

emptied. With an exclamation of impatience the 
king alighted and, followed by his generals, entered 
the house. It was as had been described. The man 
lay on the floor with an old gun in his hand, having 
apparently fallen in defence of his property. It 
was plain that this was not the work of Wal- 
lenstein’s people, but of his own. The king knelt 
down by the body, and seizing one of the cold hands, 
assured himself of the real state of affairs. He 
rose, and his face wore a look of deep anguish. 

“ Gentlemen,” he said, in a low voice, turning to 
Banner and the Duke of Saxe-Weimar, “ I am afraid 
that Godv ill turn away His face from us because 
of these things. I shall not rest until the culprits 
of this deed have been made an example of.” 

They remounted and rode on amidst general si- 
lence, directing their course to an eminence from 
whence the surrounding country might be over- 
looked and a correct view might be obtained of 
part of Wallenstein’s camp. As they were leisurely 
approaching the summit of the hill, one of those 
who had been dispatched to see that all was clear 
returned with the intelligence that a small party 
of soldiers belonging to a corps of the Elector of 
Saxony was actually engaged in pillaging a farm- 
house at the side of the hill. 


AN OLD ACQUAINTANCE. 


287 

“ Ha,” said the king turning round, with a frown, 
to Harry, “ Captain Wyndham ! Down upon them ; 
dead or alive, bring them here. Forward.” 

In a few moments a cloud of dust enveloped the 
the troop that swept over the summit and down 
the hill, like a mountain torrent, upon the pillagers. 
Never was there such a scramble as when the lat- 
ter discovered the approach of the cavalry. They were 
some twenty men strong, headed by an officer who 
in vain called out to his men to stop and defend 
themselves. Those outside the house, who were 
carrying loot, threw down what they had and made 
for the wood hard by, where the horses were tied 
together. Those inside jumped through windows, 
from roofs, and out of doors, and followed their 
comrades. Directing part of his men to the horses, 
Harry flew in amongst the few that had prepared 
themselves for a desperate resistance. Then, com- 
manding some of his .men to dismount and search 
the house, he remained outside. It was not long 
ere a shout was heard, and a figure fled out of the 
barn-door towards the wood, stooping down ever 
and anon to evade the bullets that were sent after 
him. Fortunately for the fugitive several of the 
horses of the pillaging troop had broken loose. In 
a moment the figure had caught one, jumped on its 


2 88 THE maid of stralsund . 

back, and was spurring in the direction of Wallen- 
stein’s camp. And now a race began. He was 
not a soldier — so much was plain ; but what he was 
was not easy to determine, for he rode exceedingly 
well and flew along the field, followed by half a 
dozen troopers, and was quickly out of sight. After 
some resistance the pillagers, who had heard of the 
king’s presence, were bound, and, trembling for their 
lives, they were on the point of starting, when the 
party who had set off in pursuit of the fugitive 
came again in view. 

“ I have lassoed a curious prize, captain,” cried 
one fellow, who had been in Spain and knew how 
to use the lasso. “ Here’s neither soldier, peasant, 
citizen, priest, nor student, Christian, heathen, man, 
nor beast. I’ve seen many an animal, but never a 
one like this.” 

And there, bound securely to the fellow’s horse, 
and with a purple face in consequence of the lasso 
around his neck, dressed in the same beggarly 
clothes of three years ago, was the veritable gypsy 
who had so mysteriously crossed Harry’s path 
twice before. For a moment the two eyed each 
other without moving a muscle. Then a faint smile 
came on Harry’s lips, as he said, in English, “ The 
tables are turned this time, Joe Marks. How is it 


AN OLD ACQUAINTANCE. 289 

your stars could not warn you of this ? or did 
they ? ” 

“ No,” said the Irishman very coolly, “I think 
not. It is all up with me now. But can’t this 
strap be loosened, I shall have another one on soon 
enough, anyhow.” And he gave a short laugh. 

Harry ordered the strap round his throat to be 
loosened, and knowing that the King was awaiting 
the issue of his expedition, he set out on his return. 
They found Gustavus Adolphus diligently employed 
in reconnoitring the surrounding country, of which 
a beautiful panorama lay before him. When he 
observed the party, the expression of his features 
became hard and stern. He ordered the prisoners 
to be brought before him, and the cavalry to form 
three sides of a square around them. They looked 
a pitiable lot as they stood trembling with bare 
heads and their hands tied behind them. He re- 
garded them for a moment, and then called the 
officers to the front. Two corporals, a sergeant, 
and an ensign answered. The superior officer had 
already been killed in his own defence. 

“You are the men that heap disgrace on my 
head, and cause alike my name and my cause to be 
cursed. You have given the example to the soldiers, 
and of you therefore an example will be made.” 

19 


290 


THE MAID OF STRALSUND. 


He wheeled abruptly round, gave a short com- 
mand to an officer behind him, and cantered off, 
followed by all except about twenty hussars and 
the five unhappy men. Not long afterwards the 
hussars again joined the party. A dreadful punish- 
ment had been inflicted upon the five men. They 
were hanging in front of the house which they had 
been pillaging. 

“ Tell me who and what thou art,” asked Harry 
of the gypsy, whom he had contrived to get beside 
him. “ Thou art a mysterious creature.” 

“As you see,” answered the gypsy, “ I am a poor 
beggar, and I have to get a living anyhow.” 

With this answer, however, Harry was in no way 
content. By adroit questioning and coaxing he 
managed to extract from the prisoner the following 
details of his life. His father had been an import- 
ant member of the gypsy tribe, who having for 
some reason been compelled to fly, had crossed 
over from his native country, Bohemia, to Ireland, 
where he married an Irish girl. He was their only 
child, and on the death of both parents, when still 
young, he determined to join his own people, where 
by his strength and the knowledge of English and 
French, which he managed to learn, he soon rose 
to great power in his tribe. He hinted that he had 


AN OLD ACQUAINTANCE . 


291 

frequently been employed by Wallenstein’s astrolo- 
ger, whom we have already introduced, but in what 
capacity he would not disclose. At the commence- 
ment of the war he had entered the army for his 
own purposes, but a quarrel with Seni had separated 
them for ever. 

“ I do not see much of that separation/' said 
Harry, “ since thou art at least in the neighborhood 
of his camp as much as ever.” 

“ Do you not know, young man,” answered the 
gypsy, “that where the hunters are, there also is 
the carrion crow and the vulture ? I am driving a 
warfare of my own now, and I know it is most 
profitable after all.” 

“ But you are in the Imperial camp occasionally, 
are you not ? ” asked Harry. 

“ I might have been,” was the cautious answer, 
as the fellow looked at the expression on Harry’s 
face from the corner of his eyes. 

“And do you know its position?” Harry asked 
again. 

“ I know nothing,” answered the gypsy firmly, 
evidently deeming his information thrown away. 

This, Harry was convinced was untrue, but do 
what he might he could get no more out of the 
man. His threats were of no avail, for the fellow 


THE MAID OF STRALSUND. 


292 

firmly believed that ere the night had passed he too 
would be hanged. All offers of reward were unsuc- 
cessful, for the same reason. The only thing which 
could have tempted the gypsy to make any dis- 
closures was his liberty, and over this Harry knew 
he had no power. He had learned enough now not 
again to let the prisoner slip without authority. 

That evening in his tent he slept but little. Sup- 
pose the gypsy knew all about the enemy’s camp,— 
and it was most probable that he did, — could he not 
take a message or a letter to Theodore ? This was 
most likely the only opportunity they would ever 
have of communicating. 


CHAPTER XXIX. 


THE MESSAGE OF LOVE. 

r | "‘HE next morning at break of day Harry hur- 
ried out of his tent to the spot where he 
knew the prisoners, who had not been condemned 
to death, were confined previous to their trans- 
portation to the prison at Nuremberg. He found 
the gypsy soundly asleep on a horse-rug, and it 
needed some shaking to awake him. He rubbed 
his eyes and looked at Harry with astonishment. 

* “ Answer me one question/' said the latter 
decisively ; “ do you know the place where the 
5 2d regiment of Croats bivouac in Wallenstein’s 
camp ? Hark you, I am deeply grateful for. the 
services you have rendered me, and I shall en- 
deavor to procure your liberty, on one condition — 
that you will help me further. Do you think it is 
at all possible for me with your assistance to entei 
the camp, and speak to one of the Croat officers ? 

293 


294 


THE MAID OF STRALSUND. 


Never mind the risk for me, but is there any 
possibility ?” 

“ No,” answered the gypsy curtly ; but he 
seemed for some moments swayed by doubts. 
At last he said, “ If you do not mind the risk of 
being shot half a dozen times, I think it might be 
done.” 

“ That will do,” said Harry ; and turning round 
he hurried away to Colonel Lumsdell’s tent, to 
whom he explained who and what the gypsy was — 
neither spy nor soldier, but simply one of the many 
wandering vagabonds who travelled in the rear of 
Wallenstein’s army. Then with his heart full of 
hopes he went to find Herr Wechter. With 
adroitness Harry turned the conversation upon 
the two armies that were confronting each other, 
and remarked that it was sad to think that many 
in the one had friends in the other with whom 
they could hold no intercourse, and against whom 
they might be compelled to fight ere long. 

“ Yes,” said Herr Wechter, with a sigh ; “ would 
that there were communication between the two 
armies, although of course this is impossible. I 
would send a letter to that boy of mine every day 
until I had him safe in my arms.” 

“ Could you not send one now ? ” asked Harry. 


THE MESSAGE OF LOVE. 


295 

“ Send one now ! ” repeated Wechter, looking in 
amazement at Wyndham. 

“ Yes. Suppose some adventurer were to un- 
dertake the delivery of one, and saw his way to 
the execution of the plan, could you not write a 
letter ? ” 

Herr Wechter shook his head, and looked as if 
he did not comprehend what was said to him ; and 
was 'with difficulty made to understand that the 
opportunity he so much desired had come. 

He listened with suspended breath. It was 
then arranged, and promised with glistening eyes 
to have a letter ready at dusk. 

Thanks to Colonel Lumsdell, the examination 
of the gypsy ended very favorably. Harry had 
deemed it wise to inform the colonel of all he knew 
about him. As he spoke their tongue and had not 
been caught in plundering, but had been con- 
cealed in the barn, and as his own quick wit gave 
him a ready answer to every question, he received 
a severe reprimand on the evils of vagabondism 
and idleness, and he was then handed over to the 
guard, who had orders to release him at dusk. 

The whole of that day Harry was in a state of 
feverish excitement. He had determined at least 
to attempt what appeared next to impossible. He 


296 THE maid of stralsund. 

had resolved to surmount all obstacles and brave 
all dangers, that with his own hand he might bring 
Theodore his father’s letter and speak to him and 
plead with him in person. It is true he had but 
small hope of inducing Theodore to desert and join 
the Swedish army. He knew that he occupied a 
very important post, and had probably been en- 
trusted with secret missions, — for the Croats on 
their swift animals were useful in that respect. 
Still there was a chance of his resigning, and then 
father and son might return to Stralsund. 

At last evening fell, and Harry and the gypsy 
found themselves outside the camp, each on horse- 
back, the former with the old man’s letter in his 
pocket. It bore no direction, in order not to in- 
culpate Theodore, should it get into the hands of 
the Imperialists ; and as it was sealed, Harry did 
not read it. It was better that the words between 
father and son, in which the former perhaps con- 
fessed that he too had been wrong, should not be 
revealed to any human eye but those for which 
they were written. 

So completely did Harry trust to his guide, that 
he never for a moment entertained a thought of 
his endeavoring to play false. They conversed 
together, and v/ere much more communicative than 


THE MESSAGE OF LOVE . 


2 97 


before. The gypsy himself began to talk about 
their present expedition. 

“ You must promise me one thing, captain,” he 
said to Harry, “ and that is that you will let nobody 
know what I am now doing. I do it solely out of 
gratitude to you ; and if it became known amongst 
the brotherhood, it might be fatal to me, and per- 
haps to you too.” 

“ The brotherhood ! ” said Harry ; “ what broth- 
erhood ? ” 

“ Brotherhood ! ” repeated the gypsy in a some- 
what startled voice. “ I spoke of no brotherhood ! ” 

“ Come, come, master gypsy,” said Harry ; “ you 
are going to trust me with a very important secret, 
and you do not put enough faith in me to speak of 
a matter that is pretty well known in the world. 
You most decidedly spoke of a brotherhood, and 
I know very well that such an one exists. But I 
knew not that you were a member of it, nor that 
its decrees could be so fatal.” 

“ Young man,” answered the gypsy, once more 
turning towards Harry with that earnestness, 
almost haughtiness, which at times he could 
assume, “ if I said brotherhood, I was not wrong. 
I meant tribe. But there is a brotherhood, and I 
am an unworthy member of it. What it does, 


298 THE MAID OF STRALSUND. 

what it is, what it professes, I cannot say ; but that 
it has power over everything in this land and 
everybody, that much I will tell you.” 

“ Except, perhaps, over him who rests over yon- 
der, and who is mightier even than your emperor,” 
said Harry. 

“ Ha, ha ! ” laughed the gypsy. It was a bitter, a 
hateful laugh, and he shook his fist against the 
place where dimly the camp fires of the Imperial- 
ists could be seen. “ He ! the villain, the dog ! 
Mark my words. Ere my life is five years older, 
both these oaks will be felled by the hand of the 
common woodman. The axe is sharpening, and 
the wielder — is not far off.” 

As he said these last words he spurred his horse, 
and for the rest of the time remained silent. After 
they had made a great circuit, and forded the 
Pegnitz and the Rednitz twice, the gipsy halted, 
and then, requesting his companion to dismount, 
drew two pegs out of his pocket and picketed both 
horses in a spot where the grass grew thick. 

“ You must remain here,” whispered the gypsy, 
“ until I return. See, here are the outposts of the 
Croats.” As he spoke he crept a few paces on- 
ward, and Harry, following him, perceived that 
they were on the summit of a hill, and that, at the 


THE MESSAGE OF LOVE . 


299 


other side, a fire was burning, surrounded by men. 
“ I shall creep through, go to Wechter's tent, and 
deliver the letter. Should I find it at all practica- 
ble for you to go, I shall come and tell you. At 
all events, wait here till I return, and give me the 
letter.” 

Seeing that there was nothing else for it, Harry 
gave him the letter and waited. He waited long. 
At last a hand touched his arm. He started, but 
was pushed dowh by the gypsy, who was wet with 
dew and breathed heavily. 

“ It’s no use,” he said ; “ you can’t go. I, who 
am accustomed to this kind of thing, I’m tired 
to death, and have had a narrow escape twice. 
Besides, he won’t see you. He says it’s no good. 
Blit he has given me an answer. Here it is.” 

“ What did he say ? ” asked Harry. “ Did he 
read the letter ? Could I not see him for a 
moment ? ” 

“No,” said the gypsy, decisively. “At first he 
laid it beside him. But when he took it up and 
broke the seal and looked at the handwriting he 
started, turned pale, and his hand shook like an 
aspen-leaf. Then he began reading it, and laying 
it down, and covering his face with his hands, and 
reading again. At last he began to cry like a 


THE MAID OF STRALSUND. 


3 °° 

child, and I pitied him. He remained with his 
head in his hands for a long while, and when he 
got up again he was quite calm, and wrote this 
answer. But he instructed me positively to tell 
you not to attempt to come to him.” 

Harry thanked the gypsy, and, under his guid- 
ance, returned to the Swedish camp. 

The letter which he handed to his old friend was 
short but full of tender expressions of regret for the 
past. It was not difficult to see that the haughty 
spirit had been broken ; and although honor and 
a soldier’s instinct made it impossible to return, he 
prayed that some day peace might come, and that 
he might then feel his father’s arms around him as 
of old. 


CHAPTER XXX. 


BEFORE THE BATTLE. 

HE blow had been struck and parried. The 



Duke of Friedland’s position had been attack- 
ed with all the impetuosity of the Scots regiments, 
the cool determination of the Finlanders, and the 
bravery of the Germans. During ten hours, regi- 
ment after regiment had marched up a steep height 
at the summit of which a hundred pieces of cannon 
were awaiting them. When they arrived in the 
middle of the ascent, a flash of lightning was seen, 
a shock wasfelt as of a tremendous peal of thunder, 
a cloud of smoke for some moment enveloped the 
soldiers, and out of it the clang of swords and the 
rattle of musketry could be heard. When the cloud 
of smoke disappeared it disclosed the regiment in 
confusion flying down the hill pursued by Impe- 
rial cavalry, and leaving, one-fifth of their number 
on the field of death. Every regiment was thus 


302 


THE MAID OF STRALSUND. 


brought into action. It marched resolutely up 
the hill, it received the terrific fire of the guns, it 
endeavored to rally, it was met by a fearful dis- 
charge of musketry ; a charge of cavalry, and it 
turned to fly from so overwhelming a force. And 
every hour during which the attack lasted two 
hundred corpses covered the scene of the struggle. 

Convinced that Wallenstein’s camp was impreg- 
nable, the King of Sweden at last resolved to re- 
lieve the city of Nuremberg from the fearful bur- 
den which it bore reluctantly. Leaving a sufficient 
garrison to protect it in case of a siege, he broke 
up his camp, divided his army into two parts, sent 
one into Franconia, and marched himself back on 
the way he had come, to complete his conquest of 
Bavaria. Five days later, Wallenstein followed his 
example. Without troubling himself about the city, 
he broke up his camp and retreated in an opposite 
direction. The way which he chose was marked 
along the horizon by the columns of smoke and the 
flames which shot up in the air. Every village he 
passed was plundered and burned ; and the inhabit- 
ants of the city, much though they had suffered, 
were deeply grateful for the protection which had 
saved them from such a fate. 

Much though they had suffered, there had been 


BEFORE THE BA TTLE. 


303 

no siege ; there had been no violence perpetrated 
within the city : a battle had not been fought ; with 
the exception of one attack, no blood had been spilt 
by the sword. And yet those three months which 
had been passed by the two hostile armies in sight 
of each other had been more fatal to either than a 
series of the bloodiest conflicts which it would have 
been possible to engage in. It is true the city had 
lost none of its property, and none of its inhabitants 
had been murdered ; but nevertheless, its loss had 
been in proportion scarcely less than that of Mag- 
deburg. The king’s army had lost one-third, Wal- 
lenstein’s more than one-half of its number, and 
for miles and miles around the city the fields had 
been converted into a huge burial ground. That 
terrible enemy, disease, born from scarcity and 
privation, had dealt its blows indiscriminately and 
fatally. 

Marching rapidly forward, the king once more 
appeared in Bavaria. An insurrection of the 
peasantry in Upper Austria cleared the way to 
Vienna. Wallenstein, at the head of the only Im- 
perial army, was in Saxony, and could not possibly 
have interrupted his march. Ingolstadt alone lay 
between the king and Vienna. Once more the 
Emperor trembled on his throne, once more the 


THE MAID OF STRALSUND . 


3°4 

great prize seemed to be in the king’s grasp ; when, 
to every one’s astonishment, events interposed a 
second time between the idea and the reality. When 
on his march to Ingolstadt, the king received a 
packet from his chancellor Oxenstierna. It in- 
formed him that Wallenstein, while threatening the 
Elector of Saxony with the most frightful devas- 
tation of his dominions, at the same time artfully 
held out proposals for peace ; and that he was 
assisted in his plans by the elector’s field-marshal, 
Arnheim, who had kept up a constant correspon- 
dence with his former chief, and who now used all 
his influence to draw the elector away from his 
alliance with the Swedish king. The latter at once 
saw that this would be a terrible blow to his pro- 
gress. The elector was the most powerful and the 
most influential Protestant prince in Germany. 
His territory lay between the king and the Baltic. 
Should he turn from an ally into an enemy, others 
were sure to follow, the king would find himself in 
the midst of a hostile country, and the issue would 
be impossible to foretell. 

As soon as the king received this communication, 
therefore, he decided to prevent this calamity by 
uniting himself with the Elector and forcing Wallen- 
stein to a battle. He retraced his steps northward, 


BEFORE THE BATTLE. 


305 


passed by Nuremberg once more, effected a junc- 
ture with Bernard, Duke of Weimar, whom he had 
left in Franconia, and reached Erfurt and his queen 
the 28th of October, 1632, to bid her farewell before 
a decisive battle. 

Harry had obtained permission to go to the city 
and take his leave of Helena ; and his friend 
Baverley and Herr Wechter were to join them 
afterwards. He found his betrothed still dressed in 
deep mourning, and somewhat pale and sad : for 
her own sorrows had been heavy, and her sympa- 
thetic nature felt deeply for the loving and beautiful 
queen. 

“ You should not be sad and downcast,” whis- 
pered he ; “ you should summon your brightest 
smiles, to give courage to her majesty.” 

Helena sighed. 

“ I have lost so much,” she said, “ and I fear I 
shall lose so much more. I cannot smile.” 

Harry looked down upon her with tenderness ; 
“ I had so hoped that I might have changed that 
sombre black dress for one more gay, and that from 
the orphan I might have made you a happy wife. 
I cannot bear the thought of your position should I 
fall in the battle.” 

“ And let us think of the poor queen, Harry, for 
20 


306 THE maid of stralsund 

assuredly she would be in a far worse position than 
I. Suppose the king were to die, what would she 
do, in this strange country, and surrounded by those 
who had been subjugated by her husband’s sword ? 
There is a feeling within me as if something was 
going to happen ! ” 

“ Nay,” said Harry, “ I feel so confident that he 
will be victorious, that I am almost impatient.” 

“ When I saw him alighting from his horse just 
now,” said Helena, “ and beheld his warlike form 
going into the house, a curious feeling came over 
me, and it was as if my heart was pressed by a heavy 
load. God grant that he may be spared to us ! But 
whom have we here ? Dear Herr Wechter ! ” 

At this moment Herr Wechter and Baverley ap- 
peared before the house, and greeted Helena 
through the window. The appearance of the old 
man, whom she had scarcely seen since their de- 
parture from Stralsund, made her forget even Harry. 
She rushed to the door of the apartment, into the 
arms of her guardian, and, overcome with emotion, 
laid her head upon his shoulder and wept. When 
she had become sufficiently calm, he led her to a 
seat, and taking one beside her, commenced relating 
to her his vicissitudes. When he had thus been 
engaged for some time, Herr Wechter took her 


BEFORE THE BATTLE. 


307 

hand with a solemn mien and looked at her in 
silence. 

“ All flesh is grass,” said he, reverently, “ and 
who knows whether any of us will live till to- 
morrow.” There was a pause as the old man look- 
ed at his friends earnestly. 

“ Helena, my dear,” he said, taking her hand 
and patting it gently, like a father, “ I am old and 
shall not live long. But I am your guardian, my 
child, and if I should be taken away from you, you 
would have no other. Now it struck me that as 
both Harry and William might be killed in the 
battle — for a battle there assuredly will be ere the 
month is out, — it would be very wrong of me as 
guardian to leave you without some provision.” 

Harry and Helena looked at each other with 
disquietude. 

“ I am old,” exclaimed old Wechter, “ and not 
likely to live much longer. But God has blessed 
me with means, and I am thankful to say I have 
spent the greater part of them in His service. But 
it has also pleased him to take away my wife and 
my son ; and so I look upon you, Helena, as my 
daughter, and I hope earnestly that I may soon look 
upon Harry as my son. I have left instructions in 
Stralsund that you are my heiress, and I have ap- 


3 o8 THE maid of steals c/ad. 

pointed as guardian in my stead my noble friend 
the Chancellor. I only thought it was right to tell 
you this now,” he added, with simplicity, “ because 
we may not meet here on earth again. I shall not 
be long on earth, but for you, my dear, there may 
be a long life in store, in which you will always 
strive, I hope, to be a light shining freely to the 
glory of your Maker.” 

Helena took his hand and covered it with tears. 
All were deeply moved. The solemnity of the 
occasion, the certainty of the approach of impor- 
tant, of perhaps fatal events, imparted a double 
feeling of sadness to these last moments. 

Not long after, the three men followed the king 
as silently he rode to join his army, which had been 
left at some distance from the town. And Helena 
went quietly to fulfil her duty with the sorrowing 
and all but inconsolable queen. 


CHAPTER XXXI. 


THE BATTLE OF LUTZEN. 

THICK, impenetrable fog hung over the earth 



^ when, on the 16th of November, 1632, the 
sun rose above the horizon. The inhabitants of the 
little town of Lutzen, if any had remained, on look- 
ing out of their windows on that morning, would 
not have been aware of the presence of anything 
unusual had not the noise of arms, the sound of 
military commands, the sharp notes of the bugle, 
the beat of the drum, the neighing of horses, which 
fell upon their ears through the veil of mist, taught 
them that not far off two hostile armies were drawn 
up opposite each other, and that ere the sun had 
again risen, one of these would have been driven 
from the field. 

After leaving Erfurt, the king had advanced with 
rapid marches to the town of Naumburg, which is 
situated at a distance of about thirty miles south- 


310 THE maid of steals und. 

west of Leipsic. Here he received welcome in- 
telligence. Wallenstein was totally unaware of his 
approach ; but more than that. After having call- 
ed a council of war, the duke had resolved to go 
into winter quarters in Saxony. His army was 
distributed over the different towns in the neighbor- 
hood, and Pappenheim had been despatched with 
about 14,000 men to the relief of Cologne, which was 
at that moment being threatened by the Dutch. No 
sooner was the king informed of Pappenheim’s 
march to Cologne, than, breaking up his camp at 
Naumburg, he advanced with the whole of his army 
towards Wallenstein, resolved to force him to a 
battle, now that he had been weakened by so 
large a detachment. The duke, taken entirely by 
surprise, hastily collected all his forces from the 
neighboring towns and villages, took up a position 
on the plain of Lutzen, and sent a flying messenger 
to Pappenheim, with strict orders to come back 
immediately and join him in the battle. On the 
evening of the 15 th, Gustavus Adolphus arrived with 
his army on the opposite side of the plain, the high 
road from Lutzen to Leipsic running between the 
two armies, and drew up his forces in order of battle. 
In the night, Wallenstein had the cleverness to 
possess himself of this road, dig deep trenches, and 


THE BATTLE OF LUTZEN. 


3ii 

fill them with musketeers. In the meanwhile, the 
King of Sweden, the Duke of Weimar, and Gen- 
eral Knipphausen were passing their time in the 
king’s coach, discussing the order of the battle, 
the plan of attack, and making dispositions as to 
the future. 

We find Harry and William posted on the right 
wing, which was commanded by the king in person. 
The Swedish army was drawn up in two lines, one 
behind the other — and their regiment, which had 
been assigned a place in the second line, was station- 
ed on a little eminence, from which a magnificent 
view of the whole field could be obtained. The 
fog, however, now enveloped everything in its 
impenetrable folds, and threatened to destroy the 
chance on which the king had depended — that of 
beating Wallenstein ere Pappenheim could have 
reached him. The two youths had passed the 
night by their horses wrapped in their cloaks, and 
had slept soundly as if lying on a bed of down. 

“ If the fog continues,’’ said Wyndham, “ it will 
be impossible to fight. I can just distinguish the 
rear of the Swedish cavalry from here. See ! they 
are mounting. Whatever for, I should like to 
know ? Ha, they cheer ! It must be the king ! ” 

“ I think it is,” answered Baverley, bending over 


3 12 


THE MAID OF STKALSUND. 


his horse’s head. “ Methinks the fog is becoming 
thinner. Is yonder the king, colonel ? ” 

Colonel Lumsdell looked sharply, and moved his 
horse a few steps forward. “ Yes,” he said ; “ I 
can hear his voice. He is not far from us, either. 
Close up there ! ” 

The ranks were soon formed, and the regiment 
stood immovable, awaiting the approach of the be- 
loved leader. But he came not. It was now clear 
day, and had been so for some three hours, and yet 
scarcely anything was visible but the immediate 
surroundings. 

“ Here it comes at last,” said Harry , as the sun 
broke through the mist, and a gust of wind blew 
the fog, as if in clouds, before it. In a few moments 
the whole field lay stretched out before them, the 
long lines of horses and men with their glittering 
polished helmets, cuirasses, and arms, and gay ban- 
ners reaching far away into the distance ; at the 
same time the army of the duke became visible on 
other side, the white and dusty road lying between 
them. The men drew a deep breath, and involun- 
tarily the horses trampled and snorted and moved 
closer together. 

“ See ! there's the king, right in front of us/’ 
said William, pointing in that direction. “ He is 


THE BATTLE OF LUTZ EH. 


313 


sitting on a white horse. Don’t you see him ? 
Now he dismounts ; he kneels down.” As if by 
an irresistible impulse, and following the example 
of the Swedish cavalry before them, they dismount- 
ed, uncovered, and sank on one knee. In a few 
moments every soldier followed the example, and 
the whole army was on its knees before the Lord 
of hosts. At the same instant the bands of the 
different regiments began to play, and the solemn 
and stirring tones of that magnificent old hymn of 
Luther, “ Ein feste Burg ist unser Gott,” burst 
upon the stillness of the morning. But through it, 
as if he could not allow this to happen without 
opposition, the tones of Wallenstein’s trumpets 
were heard blowing a light and trivial march. 

The king rose and, remounting, rode slowly past 
the different regiments, giving each of them a 
hearty and inspiring word. As he reached Lums- 
dell’s regiment he halted, and viewed with evident 
satisfaction the fine appearance which it presented. 
“For you, brave Scots,” he said, “ I have reserved 
the difficult post of waiting until I shall want your 
irresistible charge to make the scales turn in our 
favor.” A tremendous cheer burst from the men 
and the king moved on to the front. 

“ See ! they have set fire to Lutzen,” cried 


THE MAID OF STRALSUND. 


314 

Harry, who suddenly caught sight of the distant 
smoke and flame as they rose up into the air. “ I 
suppose they are afraid of our taking it and plant- 
ing a battery in it. Hallo ! What is this ? Knipp- 
hausen’s infantry is marching against the trenches 
on the side of the road. See how well they march ; 
it looks as if there were but one man stepping. 
See ! yonder officer at the corner is Karl Weber, 
whom we met last night. See ! he is turning round 
to his men, and points with his sword to the trench.” 

“They have taken both!” ejaculated Baverley, 
with a joyful surprise. “Bravo! old Knipphausen. 
The Imperial musketeers are running helter-skelter 
towards the battery. I wonder it does not fire. 
Ah ! ” said William, giving the glass back to 
Harry, with a shudder ; “ did you see that dis- 
charge ? I saw Karl Weber fall and the men 
waver. Have they taken to flight ? ” 

“Not at all,” said Harry, after a long look ; “at 
least I don’t think so, for there is a cloud of smoke 
just now. No ! they have taken the battery. See ! 
look what a fight they are having with the gun- 
ners ! There they run as fast as their legs can 
carry them. Oh! I feel as if we shall win this 
battle. I am growing quite impatient to have a 
hand in it.” 


THE BATTLE OF LUTZ EN. 


315 


“ Never mind/’ said William ; “ we’ll have plenty 
of it yet. See ! there is the king, with his cavalry 
sweeping across the field. I can see the Croats 
moving closer together. There they go. What a 
shock it will be ! I can see his white horse prancing 
in the front rank. What a splendid body they 
make ! ” 

“ Can you see who that officer is, riding by his 
side ? ” asked Harry of the colonel, who at a few 
yards from them was regarding the scene. 

“ It’s that Duke of Lauenburg,” answered the 
colonel. “ I wonder what could attract the king 
to that fellow. A more crafty, less straight-forward 
man I have seldom seen. There are the Croats 
and the hussars flying like chaff before them. Do 
you see ? We have beaten them on two points 
now.” 

“ Not yet,” said William. “Do you see the 
trenches by the road ? Look ! Knipphausen’s 
men are wavering. They can’t stand against that 
cavalry. See ! As I’m alive, there’s Wallenstein 
himself cheering his men on, — there, on that pie- 
bald horse. Ha ! what a fight ! Fearful ! ” 

So it was. The regiments led by Knipphausen, 
which had taken the trenches and the battery, 
were now opposed by Wallenstein himself with 


3 i6 THE maid of stralsund . 

infantry and cavalry. There was, in the middle of 
the field, one dark mass of human beings, surging 
to and fro ; no shots, no smoke, only the clash of 
the sword and the gun as it descended upon the 
armor. At last Knipphausen’s men wavered. 
Every one looked on with suspended breath, when 
the colonel in sudden alarm pointed to the right 
wing of the field, which the king had but lately 
traversed with his squadrons. A white horse was 
seen galloping without its rider. 

“ The king’s horse ! ” “ The king is wounded ! ” 

“ The king is dead ! ” were the various ejaculations 
uttered as the regiment of Finlanders in front of 
them, uttering one cry, — a cry of agony, of despair, 
of revenge, — came running in one compact mass 
towards the spot where already a bloodier conflict 
than the one described above was taking place for 
the body of the king. It seemed as if that spot had 
become the centre of the field, where the object of 
all hopes and fears lay buried under a heap of slain. 
From every side battalion after battalion, regiment 
after regiment, came up to dispute its possession. 

LumsdeU’s men, who had up to this moment been 
calm witnesses of all that passed, when they heard 
the roar of the regiment before them and saw them 
dashing over the field, became impatient, and were 


THE BATTLE OF LUTZ EH 


317 

already pressing forward, when their chief himself 
turned round, — 

“ Not one of you must stir,” he cried ; “ remem- 
ber the king’s last command. We must wait. 
The Duke of Weimar takes his place. See ! he 
has again taken the battery. Wallenstein’s picked 
troops have fled. Our men are advancing on all 
sides. Stand, and wait for orders. Even in his 
death the king must be obeyed.” 

These words accomplished their object. The 
men were quiet, though the expression of their 
faces showed that they were anything but satisfied. 
It seemed that everywhere the Imperialists were 
flying before the king’s troops, when suddenly a 
fearful explosion, followed by another and another, 
rent the air. The whole field paused for a moment. 
Then the Imperialists, behind whom the explosion 
had taken place, turned round and fled in con- 
fusion. Their powder wagons had caught fire and 
exploded. 

“ What is it? Pappenheim ? our artillery? or 
what ? ” asked Harry. “ See how they are flying ! 
The field is ours. I only hope the king is not 
dead.” 

“ So do I,” answered William ; and both remain- 
ed silent, wrapped in sad thoughts. 


3 i 8 the maid of stralsund. 

“ What ! It can’t be ! And yet, if I am not mis- 
taken, that's Pappenheim ! ” ejaculated the colonel. 
“ Now there’ll be work for us. See how the soldiers 
rally ! It must be he.” 

At this moment an adjutant came galloping up 
and spoke to the colonel. 

“ Now then, my men,” said he, turning round ; 
“ now’s the time for you. Pappenheim has arrived 
on the field, and we are to be opposed to the greatest 
cavalry general in the world. Forward ! ” 

And away they dashed towards the mette. The 
battle, all but won, was beginning afresh ; and every 
inch of ground, already covered with so many dead 
and wounded, had to be once more contested. 

The sun at last set upon the bloody day. The 
exhausted troops, no longer able to distinguish 
betwixt friend and foe, withdrew, uncertain whether 
the contest was not again to be renewed on the 
following day. Two great heroes had fallen ; each 
army had lost its idol ; and each, as it retreated, 
did so with gloomy sorrow. It was no longer an 
uncertainty amongst the Swedes that their beloved 
king had fallen and was no more. It was whispered 
about, and men repeated it with set teeth, that he 
had fallen by a traitor’s hand. Some named the 
Duke of Lauenburg, others his page, both of whom 


THE BATTLE OF LUTZ EV 


319 

had been close to him, but no one spoke with cer- 
tainty ; and but for the great fatigue of the troops 
and the uselessness of a search by night, they would 
have rushed once more to the field to find at least 
the body of him whom they had loved so deeply. 

The Imperialists, too, had sustained a great loss. 
Pappenheim, when he arrived on the field, was not 
aware of the death of the king ; and, burning with 
desire to encounter that great opponent, he spurred 
his horse to the thickest of the fight, convinced 
that he was to be found there, if anywhere. He 
received a wound in the breast, a second soon after 
pierced his lungs. Bleeding and almost exhausted, 
he still pressed on, till some of his own soldiers 
seized him, and, at the danger of their own lives, 
drew him out of the fight. When in the rear, he 
heard that Gustavus had already been slain. 

“ What ! ” he cried, leaning on one arm on the 
litter on which he lay ; “ is he dead ? ” His eyes 
brightened, and a smile passed over his face, on 
which the pallor of death had already begun to 
settle. “ Now I die happy, since my greatest 
enemy is no more.” 

Such was the end of that man. With words of 
bitter hatred on his lips he was struck down on 
the path which he had chosen. When he fell, the 


320 


THE MAID OF STRALSUND. 


Imperialists, whose courage had revived at his 
coming, began to lose all heart. In vain did 
Wallenstein throw himself amongst the wavering 
lines, exhorting, commanding, beseeching — with 
tears, with flaming eyes, with curses. In vain 
did he cleave a fugitive’s skull with his own hands. 
The charge of the Swedes became more and more 
furious. Darkness alone saved the Imperialists 
from a total rout. Under cover of the night they 
retreated in good order to Leipsic. 

The battle-field remained in possession of the 
Protestant forces, — but at what cost ! Nearly two 
hundred years later, in 1813, the same fields 
witnessed another struggle between armies more 
than twice as numerous. But the Germans and 
Russians, when confronted by Napoleon, lost little 
more than the Germans and Swedes when opposed 
by their own brethren. And yet, though dearly 
bought, posterity would not have grieved over 
these losses if Germany had thereby secured the 
ascendancy of Protestantism and liberty. But 1632 
was followed by fifteen years of warfare, and during 
that period, not only liberty and Protestantism, but 
religion itself, was all but lost to view. It was sad 
that a great king had fallen ; but it was vastly 
sadder to think that he had fallen in vain. 


CHAPTER XXXII. 


RECONCILIATION. 

r I ' HE Duke of Weimar, who had now assumed 
the command of the Swedes, had also with- 
drawn his troops from the field ; but he remained 
with his army within two miles of it, and there 
allowed his exhausted soldiers some rest. There 
was no rejoicing amongst them over the victory, 
though the battle had undoubtedly been won by 
the Swedes. There were no sounds of merriment 
and of song around the fires ; there was silence, 
or fitful talk with subdued voice, for they knew 
that not far from them lay the body of the great 
king ; while the queen, spending the weary hours 
in tears, was swayed to and fro in an agony of 
suspense ; the loving heart could not as yet believe 
that he was no more. 

Not far from one of the camp fires, which some 
of Lumsdell’s men had lit, and round which, con- 


21 


321 


J22 


THE MAID OF STRALSUND. 


siderably thinned in numbers, they were assembled, 
Wyndham and Baverley were leaning against a 
tree. They had been in the thick of a truly 
murderous fight. The former had had his horse 
killed under him, and was only saved from being 
crushed under its weight by one of his own men. 
His head was bandaged, and his arm was in a 
sling. Baverley’s- helmet was pierced by two 
bullets, and a strip of plaster on his cheek showed 
where another ball had grazed it. But the two 
friends had been miraculously saved ; and while 
in the whirl of the battle they saw friend and 
foe falling around them, they came out of it com- 
paratively unhurt, and thankful. 

“ And are you quite sure you saw him ? ” asked 
Baverley. 

“ As sure as I am that I see you before me now,” 
answered Harry. “We had just received orders, 
as ^ou recollect, to oppose the new regiment of 
Croats that had taken possession of that hill, when 
I recognized the uniform of his regiment. A few 
moments afterwards I was in the thickest of the 
charge, and there he was before me, with a face as 
pale as death. Only for one moment, when our 
eyes met, did a faint flush come to his cheeks ; but 
spurring his horse in a different direction, I lost 


RECONCILIA T10N 


323 


sight of him. Presently he was close to me again. 

I saw one of my men aim his pistol at him. I tried 
to beat it out of his hand, but could not. In 
another instant I saw poor Theodore fall back- 
wards from his horse. He put his hand to his 
breast, and I almost think there was a smile on his 
face as he fell. Of course all this happened in less 
time than I can tell it in. The next moment my 
horse was shot, and I nearly shared Theodore’s 
fate. But I know the exact place where he must 
lie, if he has not been taken away.” 

“ And do you think we would be able to find 
him, if we went to-night ?” asked William. “ He 
may not be dead, you know ; and perhaps prompt 
attention to his wound may save his life.” 

“ I shall go and ask leave,” said Harry. Baver- 
ley in the meanwhile collected a few things in a 
bag, and choosing two men from the fire, ordered 
them to get ready four horses. Not long after- 
wards Harry returned with leave, and the four 
horsemen were speedily on their way to the battle- 
field. It was, however, necessary to use some cau- 
tion, as some of the Imperialists might have re- 
turned for plunder, in which case, as they would 
probably number more, our two friends and their 
attendants might run great risk. A considerable 


324 


THE MAID OF STRALSUND. 


time ere they reached the actual scene of the con 
test, they became aware of its vicinity by the smell 
of powder and blood. As they came to the out- 
skirts of the field, they perceived several lights 
wandering to and fro in the darkness. 

“ Do you think we need be afraid of any ene- 
mies ? ” asked Harry. 

“ Well, there are the only enemies that we need 
fear,” answered William, pointing to the lights. 
“ They are the birds of prey that alight upon the 
victims after every fight. I do not think we need 
be afraid of the others. Wallenstein is by this 
time in full retreat, and I should not wonder if he 
had reached Leipsic already. Where is the spot ? 
Could you indicate it ? ” 

“ Yes,” said Harry, pausing, and with his hand 
to his forehead ; “ yonder is the town of Lutzen ; 
here is the canal: there are the windmills. We 
must have been standing over there, and exactly 
opposite he must have fallen. Have you brought 
a torch with you ? ” 

William had one, and after lighting it, they pro- 
ceeded slowly on their perilous way. 

“ This must be the spot,” said Harry, pausing 
and looking round. The moon, hidden behind wa- 
tery clouds, threw a dim light on the scene. 


RECONCILIA TION 


325 

“ Harry! You must be mistaken!” said Wil- 
liam ; and he added in a whisper : “ This is the 

middle of the field. See ! there’s the battery, and 
yonder the trenches ! The king is lying here. 
See ! here is the regiment of Uplanders, yellow 
and black ! ” 

It was true. Harry had made a miscalculation, 
and they found themselves on the spot where the 
hottest fight had taken place. As they approached 
slowly, several of the wandering lights vanished, 
the plunderers taking to their heels. That it had 
been the scene of an obstinate contest could easily 
be seen. The trenches were filled with corpses. 
Even on the field they lay three or four thick, and 
around the guns it was frightful. There lay a 
whole regiment of Upland infantry in their yellow 
and black uniforms, in the same order as they ap- 
peared on the field, as if a gigantic scythe had 
mowed them down and left them, like the sheaves 
of wheat in harvest-time. 

Harry now soon found the direction in which to 
go. They branched off to the left, and approached 
in reality the spot where he had seen the young 
Stralsunder. As they drew nearer, a solitary light 
burned before them with steadier flame. 

“ Ha ! ” said Harry, “ Some thief there is busy 


326 THE maid of stralsund. 

at work. We’ll catch him.” And ordering the 
two soldiers to make a circuit, so as to prevent his 
escape that way, he noiselessly approached the 
spot, William following up in the rear. Suddenly 
they were all startled by an exclamation from 
Harry as he rushed towards the light. Imme- 
diately following his movement, while drawing 
his sword, William was at the place in a few 
bounds. 

Amidst a circle of silent and cold companions 
lay the body of a youth in Imperial uniform, half- 
supported by the body of a horse. By his head 
a torch had been placed in the earth, and its flame 
was blown hither and thither by the wind. And 
there, by the side of that youth, on his knees, lay • 
the form of old Wechter. His face was turned up 
to heaven, and upon it there was a smile so sweet, 
so tranquil, that it seemed to reflect the calmness 
of heaven. The youth’s left hand was locked close 
in his grasp. It seemed as if the old man were 
invoking a blessing upon him. But his lips did 
not move ; his eyes were closed ; his face was 
cold. All means to restore him were in vain. He 
was dead. But neither father nor son could have 
been dead long. What passed between them, as 
both stood upon the brink of the grave ? The 


RECONCILIA TION. 


3 2 7 

father’s smile told its tale ; and the expression of 
the son’s face, at once sorrowful and calmed, as- 
sured the two friends that they had been re-united 
at the last hour. 


CHAPTER XXXIII 


THE END. 



HE body of the king had been discovered the 


^ day after the battle, almost on the spot which 
Baverley had indicated. It was found, covered 
with wounds, stripped of all its ornaments, arms, 
and most of its clothes, under a heap of slain. 
Having been conveyed to Weissenfels, a town not 
far off, it was emblamed and laid out in state. It 
was there visited by all the soldiers ; and many a 
tear was wiped away when the beloved face was 
looked upon for the last time. In the mean time, 
the Chancellor Oxenstierna, who was on the 
Upper Rhine when the battle of Lutzen took 
place, arrived in Weissenfels, and, for the moment, 
took the reins of government. 

By the death of the king the state of affairs had 
become totally changed, — so changed, indeed, that 
neither William nor Harry could come to an im- 


THE END. 


3 2 9 

mediate decision what to do. As it was feared 
that Poland might make an attempt to stir up an 
insurrection in its favor in Sweden, now without a 
sovereign, it was resolved that Gustavus’s daughter, 
Christina, a child only six years old, should be pro- 
claimed queen, and that a council of regency should 
be appointed, with the bereaved wife at its head. 
As soon, therefore, as the lying in state could be 
end’ed, the body was to be carefully removed to 
Stockholm, where the unfortunate queen would 
join it. Helena, who* had as yet followed the 
queen, was hereby compelled either to go with her 
to Sweden, or to remain behind, totally alone in a 
strange city. Maidenly reserve prevented her from 
consulting Harry upon the subject; and thus, when 
the intention of the Court had been made known to 
her, she was in no small anxiety and tremor as to 
the course which she ought to take. She had 
hoped that Harry would speak of it himself that 
day, but she only saw him for a few minutes. 
Her guardian the Chancellor, was absent in the 
army, and thus, what was she to do ? 

In the evening, Harry and William desired to 
have an interview with her. When she entered 
the room she saw by their faces that they had 
something of importance to communicate. She 


33 ° 


THE MAID OF STRALSUND . 


was not long kept in doubt. They informed her 
that they had looked at their new position calmly* 
and that they could come to but one conclusion. 
They had lately received a letter from home, from 
which they could infer that the old people longed 
to see them again. At the same time, the altered 
state of affairs in Germany had considerably de- 
creased their wish to remain in the army. It would 
now become as much a war of politics and intrigues 
as of battles. With a council at the head of affairs 

9 

actions must necessarily be slow and often indeci- 
sive. They had therefore resolved to take their 
dismissal and go home ; “ but not,” added Harry, in 
a soft voice, “ unless you come with us.” What 
Helena’s answer to this was, we cannot say, as 
William, the only witness, unfortunately turned to 
the chimney at that moment to contemplate an 
interesting picture. Enough, — Harry and Helena 
were married the day the weeping queen left for 
Stockholm ;< and in the archives of the Wyndham 
family there is a somewhat voluminous document 
by another Helena, beyond doubt a daughter, which 
relateth much of this history. It speaketh of their 
reception by the old folks, and the rejoicings that 
were held in honor of the beautiful foreign bride ; 
and as there is attached a long table of descendants, 


THE END . 


33 * 


it may be inferred that they were happy and 
blessed. 

Ere we close, it may not be amiss to say a few 
words as to the issue of that great war, part of 
which we have endeavored, though but imper- 
fectly, to describe. After the king’s death, a period 
of inactivity followed. It is true small battles were 
fought, but the end of the war seemed as far off as 
ever. In 1634, however, an event happened which 
may be said to have been a death-blow to the Im- 
perial cause. The Emperor Ferdinand, surrounded 
in Vienna by Wallensteins jealous and powerful 
enemies, was soon persuaded that his inactivity 
was the result of treachery. It was said that he 
was secretly negotiating with Sweden and France 
for a peace ; that ambitious as he was, he aspired 
to the crown of Bohemia ; that ere long he would 
turn that powerful army of which he was the sole 
head against the Emperor, who would thus be at 
the mercy of the traitor. Whether these charges 
were true or not, is even now a question of dispute ; 
but it cannot be doubted that there were grave 
suspicions against the ambitious, the revengeful, 
the powerful but inactive Duke of Friedland. By 
order of the Emperor, he was assassinated at Egra* 
in 1634. At first it seemed that fortune was now 


THE MAID OF STRALSUND. 


33 2 

entirely on the side of the Emperor. The Swedes 
suffered a terrible defeat at Nordlingen in the same 
year, whereby all their former victories seemed 
to be negatived. The following year the waver- 
ing Elector of Saxony, true to his disreputable 
policy, made a separate and secret peace with the 
Emperor, and was followed by many of the smaller 
princes. But when need was highest, help was 
nighest. From that moment, as if disencumbered, 
the Swedish army, under their brave generals, — 
Banner, the Duke of Saxe-Weimar, Wrangel, and 
Torstensohn, — were everywhere victorious. In 
1647 the Lech was once more crossed, and the 
Swedish and French armies, which now conducted 
the war together poured into Bavaria. In their re- 
turn they committed the most frightful ravages. 
The north of Germany had suffered so much 
already, that scarcely any thing to plunder was 
left. The south now had its share of suffering. 
The piety and strict honesty of the Swedes had 
long since departed. Where formerly people 
prayed, “ Deliver us from the Imperialists/’ they 
now prayed, “ Deliver us from the Swedes.” 

When, in the following year, 1648, peace was 
concluded, it was solely because the German peo- 
ple, powerless, prostrate, bleeding, cried aloud for 


THE END . 


333 

a cessation of that terrible war which had devas- 
tated their country for thirty years. Assuredly, 
those who began it knew not the end. Not one of 
them was alive. The Emperor, King Christian, 
Gustavus, Wallenstein, Tilly, Pappenheim, Riche- 
lieu, James I., they were all gone. And a century 
afterwards the ruined villages and towns of that 
large empire spoke of the terrible waves that had 
broken over it. 


THE END. 


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